Recession-hit Latin America to grow 1.5% in 2017 – UN

SANTIAGO: Latin America faces a larger-than-expected recession this year but will return to growth of 1.5 percent in 2017 thanks to higher prices for its commodity exports, a UN panel forecast on Wednesday.

Hit by deep recessions in heavyweights Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, Latin America’s economies will shrink 0.9 percent this year, said the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), revising downward its forecast by 0.1 percentage point from its last report in July.