COLOMBIA: Government Lowers Growth Projection For 2017 To 1.8% From 2%

(RTTNews) - The Colombian economy should grow less than expected in 2017 - from 2% to 1.8% - said the South American country's Minister of Finance, Mauricio Cárdenas. The minister made the estimate after Colombia's statistics office reported that country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2% in the third quarter of 2017 on an annual basis.

According to Cárdenas, the official figures "confirm, once again, that the worst is over, that we overcame the most difficult moment and the economy is in a recovery process."

He also said that the government expects a 2.5% annualized growth in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Cárdenas stressed that the third-quarter's data was much better than the last four quarters records, which "raises a more positive economic scenario."

Finally, the minister announced that the economy is expected to grow around 3% in 2018, in line with the forecasts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which, in its most recent report, estimates that the Colombian GDP would increase in a 2.8%.