Economic Outlook 2017

After five years of decelerating GDP growth, Latin America entered negative territory in 2015, from which it has yet to emerge. Between 2015 and 2016 the region lost over US$ 1 trillion in GDP due to currency devaluations. Countries whose economies are more closely tied to commodity prices were the most affected, such as Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. Socioeconomic progress has stalled and in some cases reversed due to dampening real wage growth from high inflation and weak economic expansion. However, other key indicators are trending positively, possibly indicating that the worst may possibly be behind.