Colombian Central Bank board members Juan Jose Echavarria and Carlos Gustavo Cano, who mostly disagree on monetary policy strategies, believe that the country requires the current historic low rates to help the economy recover, reports Inti Landauro for The Wall Street Journal. Market players generally expect benchmark rates will stay unchanged till around May and end at an average 4.57% by year’s end. [Coping With Risk in Latin America.]
December’s urban unemployment rate rose from 10.9% to 12.3% year-over-year, notes Inti Landauro for The Wall Street Journal. Observers of Colombia’s economy usually consider the urban rates, as opposed to the national rate, to be a better gauge of the job market’s health. The joblessness rate on the national level was up from 10.6% to 11.3% in December year-over-year.
The National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) said that the country’s industrial production fell 5.9% and sales diminished 3.3% last year, reports Hannah Stone for Colombia Reports. Industries that were hardest hit and experienced decline in sales and production levels of over 20% include glass, vehicles, auto parts and rubber productions. Colombia’s national statistics agency DANE reported that the industrial sector is getting better, pointing to the industrial production, excluding coffee, growth of 2% year-over-year in November.
For more information on Colombia, visit our Colombia category.
- Global X/InterBolsa FTSE Colombia 20 ETF (NYSEArca: GXG)
Max Chen contributed to this article.