{"id":68314,"date":"2024-03-21T13:40:48","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T13:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/economic-growth-momentum-expected-to-continue-in-2024-rwangombwa"},"modified":"2024-03-21T14:08:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T14:08:00","slug":"economic-growth-momentum-expected-to-continue-in-2024-rwangombwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/economic-growth-momentum-expected-to-continue-in-2024-rwangombwa","title":{"rendered":"Economic Growth momentum expected to continue in 2024 – Rwangombwa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda John Rwangombwa has said that the economic growth momentum that Rwanda witnessed last year will continue in 2024, driven by expected investments into the construction and tourism sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economy remains resilient and strong,\u201d the governor told participants during the presentation of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement on Thursday, March 21.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s economy grew at 8.2 per cent in 2023, higher than the initially projected growth of 6.2 per cent. This was driven mainly by the services sector which grew by 11 per cent and accounted for 44 per cent of the total gross domestic product.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis strong growth momentum is expected to continue in 2024 led by increasing investments in the construction and tourism sub-sectors and the recovery of the agriculture sector thanks to improving weather condition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Delegates during the presentation of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement on Thursday, March 21.<\/p>\n

Last year, construction activities increased by 12 per cent. This could have been driven by increased demand in new construction activities including the ongoing construction of the Bugesera airport, road construction activities, and upcoming private commercial housing projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw increased imports and exports. But imports increased much faster than exports. Part of the biggest driver of our import bill is food imports,\u201d Rwangombwa said.<\/p>\n

According to the central bank, Rwanda\u2019s international trade continued its recovery in 2023. Merchandise exports rose by 1.7 per cent in 2023, supported by the good performance of domestic manufacturing exports.<\/p>\n

The presentation of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement took place at Kigali Convention Center on Thursday, March 21.<\/p>\n

Merchandise imports also rose by 6.9 per cent, mainly driven by the increased demand for imported goods and services to support the economic recovery.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s trade deficit – the difference between exports and imports – widened by 10.2 per cent.<\/p>\n

With global inflation easing and commodity prices going down, the central bank governor sees the domestic economy following the same growth trend.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s headline inflation is expected to stablise at an annual rate of 5 per cent, well within the central bank\u2019s target range of 2-8 per cent.<\/p>\n

Delegates during the presentation of the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement on Thursday, March 21.<\/p>\n

According to BNR, Rwanda\u2019s economy grew at 8.2 per cent in 2023, higher than the initially projected growth of 6.2 per cent<\/p>\n\r\n