The chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pierre Olivier Gourinchas, said that in the coming year consumers in the United States will experience the effect of the slowdown in economic activity, something that will undoubtedly have an impact in El Salvador.

In short, the worst is yet to come, and for many people, 2023 will feel like a recession,’ he said.

Gourinchas noted that there is a 25 percent chance that overall growth for next year will be around two percent, while there is a 10-15 percent chance that output growth will be below one percent.

El Salvador’s GDP will only grow by 2.6 percent this year after reporting a notorious 10.3 percent in 2021, and even the credit agency places it below the 2.8 percent forecast by the Central Reserve Bank (BCR).

The IMF warned that El Salvador’s economy will grow only 1.7 percent in 2023 and that it will feel like a year of recession despite the efforts by President Nayib Bukele’s Government to show a more encouraging outlook.

A deep recession in the United States will have effects on El Salvador’s economy, which is already facing a slowdown in its activity as shown by BCR statistics.

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