Over the weekend, El
País published an article summarizing the performance of the Colombian
economy in 2015. According to the report, while 2015 was not a terrible year
for the Colombian economy, it was a year in which all the alarm bells went off.
Oil income hit rock bottom, inflation began rising, and businesses and regular
citizens started worrying about the climbing value of the dollar.
Amidst these conflicting signs and indicators, Colombian GDP
grew at a healthy rate in 2015, and outside experts and the Colombian
government expect it to continue growing in 2016. Still, the Colombian Ministry
of Finance has had to revise
downwards the country’s reported GDP growth for 2015 from 3.6% to just 3.2%.
The government has also shifted its goal for next year from
3.8% growth to just maintaining 2015’s 3.2% growth. Mostly, this revision is
due to lowered expectations for the country’s agriculture and fishing
industries because of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
In oil-related news,
El Tiempo reported on an announcement by the Colombian government that 36 large
oil services companies are in severe financial difficulties. The companies are
from all parts of the oil services industry in Colombia, reflecting the significant
problems wracking the industry.
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