According to the World Bank, the Colombian economy has shown a slight decrease due to international problems, local media reported Monday.
Gloria Grandolini, director of the World Bank for Mexico and Colombia, attributed the downturn to “exogenous factors” such as the decline of oil prices, lack of recovery of the U.S. economy and a slight reduction of domestic demand.
Recently the director of Colombia’s National Administrative Department of Statistics, Jorge Bustamante, revealed that the economy grew 4.7 percent in the first trimester of 2012, while there was a 5 percent registered growth in the same period last year, El Espectador reported.
Grandolini said that the expectation for economic growth in 2012 for Colombia is 4.7 percent. The World Bank director noted that the figure was “very good” and that Colombia was growing “relatively well,” considering the problems facing some of the larger economies in the world.
She added that Colombia has plenty of capacity to withstand external shocks because “it has room in monetary policy and can still lower interest rates.”
“It has the fiscal space,” Grandolini added.
According to El Espectador, Colombia’s Minister of Finance Juan Carlos Echeverry is pleased with the reported growth figure. “The growth was in line with expectations. It is very good considering what we are seeing in the world,” he said.
