Stephan Kueffner, Bloomberg News

QUITO
EnergiesNet.com 05 20 2022

Ecuador’s fiscal situation is improving rapidly thanks to higher international oil prices, putting the country in a position to exceed the goal agreed with the International Monetary Fund for this year, President Guillermo Lasso said.

The South American nation could post a fiscal deficit of less than 2% of the IMF’s gross domestic product target if oil prices sustain this year’s gains, Lasso told Bloomberg’s Shery Ahn during an interview on the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway. Latin America on Thursday. That contrasts with a deficit of about 4% of GDP last year and about 7% in 2020, he said.

Ecuador’s National Treasury “is going to experience one of its best years in the last 15 years,” Lasso said, adding that the economic rebound has helped some 750,000 people lift themselves out of poverty.

Despite recent weakness triggered by recession fears, oil prices have risen more than 40% this year amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and declining global inventories. That is an advantage for Ecuador, which produces around half a million barrels of crude per day.

The country is also benefiting from growing demand for its banana and shrimp exports, while tourism has recovered 30%, the president said.

Lasso, a former banker-turned-politician, said he spends more than half his time meeting with investors to introduce them to business opportunities in the country, including mining projects. He is also pushing for a US$1.8 billion infrastructure program.

On Thursday, the president also met with US First Lady Jill Biden, who is visiting Quito to discuss child malnutrition programs, one of Lasso’s main political targets.

He has pledged to participate in the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles next month, even as some Latin American leaders threaten to boycott the event if Biden does not invite all the region’s presidents, including Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

bloomberg.com 05 19 2022