Ecuador’s economy contracted by 5.6% in the first quarter of 2021 compared with the same period the prior year, the country’s central bank said on Wednesday, the latest sign of the impact of the pandemic and related restrictions on the Andean country.
The biggest factors were a decline in government spending, less investment and a drop in household consumption from January to March, the central bank said. The comparable period in 2020 mostly took place before coronavirus restrictions were implemented on March 12.
“The interannual results of the first quarter still reflect an economic contraction due to the spread of the coronavirus during the first three months of the year,” central bank General Manager Guillermo Avellan told reporters.
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