Low Economic Growth Persists in Eastern Caribbean

Bassetterre, January 30 (PL)- Members of the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS) face today a low economic growth, with persistent fiscal deficits and rising debt levels, said Dwight Venner, Governor of the Central Bank of the subregional entity.

Presenting the report of the Economic Revision 2013 of the subregion, Dwight said that 2013 was a difficult year for the Monetary Union, with high rates of unemployment and poverty and some fragility in the financial sector.

"Once again the structural characteristics of our countries, of small size, with an extreme opening and high vulnerability to external crisis and natural disasters, are now most evidents", he said.

According to the governor of the Bank, the economic and financial developments in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union continue being shaped by the global economic environment that remains uncertain, with growth for 2013 lower than expected.

In this regard he stressed that uncertainty remains in Europe and unemployment rates will remain high, while emerging economies there was a slowdown in that activity.