Ecuador Economy to Grow 1.42%

Ecuador’s central bank expects the Andean nation’s economy to grow by 1.42% in 2017 with respect to 2016, central bank manager Madeleine Abarca said in a press conference on Thursday, Reuters reported. The country’s economy is seen shrinking by 1.7% this year due in part to a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in April that killed more than 660 people. “Ecuador in 2017 will see growth in its economic activity of 1.42%,” said Abarca, adding that a new trade agreement with the European Union and an increase in the price of oil—a key export for the OPEC nation—would help fuel the expansion.