Regional Economic Outlook, Western Hemisphere, October 2023

Download or read book Regional Economic Outlook, Western Hemisphere, October 2023 written by International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2023-10-13 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a stronger-than-expected recovery from the pandemic and continued resilience in early 2023, economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is softening as the effect of tighter policies to combat inflation is taking hold and the external environment is weakening. The early and swift monetary tightening across the region since 2021, together with the withdrawal of most of the pandemic fiscal stimulus and the reversal of external price pressures, have helped put headline inflation on a downward trajectory. Core inflation has also started to ease, as price pressures are becoming less generalized, although it remains elevated amid strong labor markets and positive output gaps in some countries. Banking systems have weathered the rise in interest rates well and are generally healthy, though credit to the private sector is decelerating amid tighter supply conditions and weaker demand.