Regional Economic Bulletin: Caribbean Coast, First Quarter of 2026
The Regional Economic Bulletin is published by the Regional Economies Section of the Technical and Economic Information Department at Banco de la República. The views and potential errors are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not compromise Banco de la República or its Board of Directors.
During the first quarter of 2026, the economy in the Caribbean region continued to moderate its annual growth amid higher labor costs and business caution. Commerce continued to drive annual growth, supported by expanding household consumption, stronger consumer confidence, and the dynamism of large-scale events. In contrast, industrial production declined, affected by constraints in the supply of inputs. Inflation continued to rise due to higher prices for perishable goods, housing, restaurant services, and transportation. In the labor market, the employment and unemployment rates were similar to those recorded a year earlier.
Trade continued to show positive results, associated with the growth of household consumption, particularly vehicles, motorcycles, food, beverages, and cultural goods. This performance occurred within the context of improving consumer confidence and dynamic recreational and entertainment activities.
Regional industrial activity contracted, affected by constraints in the supply of inputs and weaker external demand. Production of food, beverages, agrochemicals, and ferronickel declined. Likewise, coal-mining activity declined, as inventories were used to meet demand.
Inflationary pressures intensified during the quarter, driven by higher prices for perishable foods, housing, foods away from home, and transportation. Price increases reflected weather-related factors, higher input costs, rent indexation, wage adjustments, and increases in urban transportation fares.
Regional Economic Bulletin published to date (since 2025)
In order to present this content to the English-speaking public, since 2025 Banrep has been providing translations of the summaries. The full document, as well as the interactive bulletin, are published only in Spanish.
