The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean have continued their strong post-pandemic rebound, but “the winds are shifting” as global financial conditions tighten, commodity prices reverse the upward trend and inflationary pressures persist.The Washington-based financial institution on Wednesday said that the reopening of contact-intensive sectors, especially hospitality and travel, the unwinding of pandemic “pent-up” demand and still favorable external financial conditions, supported a solid expansion in the first half of the year, allowing services to “catch up” with manufacturing and employment to reach pre-pandemic levels.The bank said year-on-year growth reached 2.8 per cent in the first quarter, compared to an average of 1.7 per cent in the years preceding the pandemic, and that high-frequency indicators point to continued momentum in the second quarter.On the back of this “solid” first half of the year and despite an expected slowdown in the second half, the IMF forecasted the region to grow by 3.0 per cent this year, an upgrade from the April forecast of 2.5 per cent.
