MEXICO CITY – Panama's economy accelerated in September, as strength in the mining and construction sectors made up for slow traffic through the Central American nation's trademark canal and ports.
Economic activity rose 8.15% in September compared to the same month last year, the government statistics agency said on Tuesday, up from a downwardly-revised 6.59% in August.
The finance ministry projects the $33-billion economy will grow 8.5% this year, down from the double digit growth Panama has notched in four of the past six years.
The expansion is thanks in large part to massive government infrastructure spending, including the ongoing $5.25-billion expansion of the Panama canal and the construction of Central America's first metro for $1.8-billion.
Minera Panama, a subsidiary of Canada's First Quantum Minerals is also building a $6.2-billion copper mine on the Atlantic, which is expected to become one of the world's most important openpit copper developments.
But traffic through the canal and to ports continued to slump, weighed down by a global slowdown in trade. A six-month delay in the opening of the expanded canal also persuaded some shippers to choose alternative routes where they can carry goods more cheaply on bigger ships.