The monthly index of economic activity increased by 6.97% in 2023

He Monthly index of economic activity (Imae) of the country saw an increase of 6.97% between January and December 2023, notes a report by the National Institute for Statistics and Census (Inec) of the Office of the Comptroller General.

While, The year-on-year increase, between December 2022 and the same month in 2023, was 7.41%with sectors that showed positive variations such as trade, transport, the Colón Free Zone and the banking center.

The Construction was also accelerated in Decemberdue to investments in infrastructure works in the public and private sectors, and in the processing industry, along with greater production of food products.

Also, they presented positive figures in the last month of 2023, the services it provides Hotels and restaurantsdue to the greater influx of tourists and hikers and entertainment and recreational activities such as the lottery, horseback riding and games of chance.

As expected, The Panama Canal presented negative rates andn net tons and revenue from tolls, due to the lack of rain that limited the passage of vessels, in the second half of 2023.

Cement production was also reduced in December last year and exploitation of mines and quarriesafter the closure of the copper mine.

In the fishing area, the sector with low production in December was the shrimp sector, relative to the catch shrimp intended for export.

After a fall of -19.84% in 2020, caused by restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, the accumulated Imae for 2021 rose to 18.41%, and in 2022 it was 11.35%.

By analyzing the behavior reflected last year, cumulatively, The months with the highest growth were August (8.64%) and September (8.37%).

While, The month with the lowest growth was November, with 6.92 percentcaused by social protests that took place across the country, with street closures affecting production.

These protests meant that on an annual basis economic activity decreased by -2.94% compared to November 2022.