Regional Economic Bulletin (BER in Spanish): Northwest, Third Quarter of 2023
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.
The Regional Economic Bulletin (BER) is a quarterly publication produced since 2003, whose purpose is to provide the economic agents and the general public with periodic, reliable, and timely information on the evolution of the main variables of the economic activity in the regions of the country, following the own classification of Banco de la República (the Central Bank of Colombia).
The economy in the Northwestern region slowed sharply in the third quarter of 2023. Higher interest rates, persistent inflation, and uncertainty contributed to the weakening of aggregate demand. On the one hand, industry and commerce experienced their most significant falls since the beginning of the pandemic. At the same time, the main construction indicators deteriorated. Meanwhile, hotel occupancy decreased, related to the lower dynamism of transportation. On the other hand, the agricultural sector expanded, particularly with enhanced food supplies, including pork and milk from Antioquia. Regarding foreign trade, exports slowed down while imports continued to decline. In turn, the unemployment rate decreased in both capital cities, reaching historic lows in Medellín and its metropolitan area. Finally, the downward trend of inflation continued, although it remains above double digits.
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.
