The economy of Costa Rica advanced 1.5 percent year-on-year in October 2018, quickening from an upwardly revised 0.9 percent growth in the previous month. Output expanded at a faster pace mainly in: transportation & storage (3.2% vs 2.6% in September); finance & insurance (5.8% vs 5.7%); real estate activities (2.3% vs 2.1%) and utilities (1.5% vs 0.2%). Meanwhile, slower growth was seen in construction (8.2% vs 12%); information & communication (4.1% vs 4.9%) while contractions were posted in agriculture (-0.6% vs 5.3%); mining (-4.4% vs -1.5%) and trade (-0.2% vs -1.8%). In contrast, manufacturing activity rebounded (1.2% vs -0.3%). Leading Economic Index in Costa Rica averaged 3.97 percent from 1992 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 14.70 percent in March of 1992 and a record low of -5.70 percent in April of 2009.
Leading Economic Index in Costa Rica is expected to be 3.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Leading Economic Index in Costa Rica to stand at 3.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Costa Rica IMAE is projected to trend around 3.60 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.