Central Bank Predicts 8% Inflation Rate For 2007
The president of the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) - Central Bank - Franciso De Paula Gutiérrez, is predicting that the inflation rate for this year will be 8%, as the country maintains an inflation down trend.

The announcement was made during the presentation of a monetary program for 2007 which pretends to keep inflation lower than the 9.43% rate that was at the close of 2006. Gutiérrez is confident that the 8% rate is real.

"Never have been so optimistic as now, the stars are lining up for the national economy. The country has the conditions to battle inflation", said the bank president.

Gutiérrez went out on a limb to say that the Central Bank forsees that the 2008 inflation could be as low as 6%.

The only risk in the low inflation rate expectations are the price of crude oil on world markets. If the current prices are maintained the bank's projections could be a reality. However, if the price of oil begins to rise, it will have an effect on the local economy.

On the subject of exchange rates - "bandas cambiarias" in Spanish - the BCCR says it will maintain the currently policy.

The BCCR is also predicting a growth in the Producto Interno Bruto (Gross National Product) of 5% for this year, which is 3% lower than the PIB in 2006.

"For a sustained growth of 7%, as the government is calling for in its Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (National Development Plan), structural changes are needed such as in investments, eliminating bottlenecks and a stable market access that can be obtained through the TLC (Tratado Libre de Comercio)", said the BCCR president.