(Paramaribo, 10 June 2013)

The Central Bank of Suriname has released its semi-annual report 2012 covering economic developments in the second half of 2012.

Click here for the report.

“The Surinamese economy was affected marginally by the global slowdown and the decline in commodity prices. While foreign exchange and fiscal revenues from the mining sector were about unchanged from the same period in 2011, capital investment in the mining sector and strong domestic demand continued to support economic growth in the second half of 2012. Production in the mining sector showed mixed results, while the main agricultural production activities improved. The peak season of tourism brought about an increase in tourist arrivals.

Inflation continued to be very low as macroeconomic policies remained stable, international commodity prices declined, and the exchange rate was maintained. The Central Bank maintained a stable exchange rate by supplying foreign exchange to the market in light of accelerated domestic demand and a slowdown in the growth of foreign exchange inflows.

The fiscal deficit widened, financed predominantly by foreign loans, while the domestic demand created by the increase in public sector expenditure put some pressure on the foreign exchange markets. Although government debt increased, it was well below the statutory limits and continued to be far below comparable countries in the region. On the monetary side, money and credit growth were strongly reflecting increased domestic demand, but did not exert measurable inflationary pressures. The decline of the world market prices of Suriname’s export products narrowed the surplus on the external accounts. Yet, the international reserves increased markedly.

The banking sector remained well-capitalized, fairly profitable, and highly liquid. The challenge is to reduce the high financial dollarization ratio further.”