A short guide to Ecuadorian macro and financial data
Highlights of the Ecuadorian Economy
The Ecuadorian economy continues slow recovery from COVID. Given that the economy was already in a recession by 2019, Ecuador was hit particularly hard by the COVID pandemic - with a GDP contraction of 9% in 2020 and a slow recovery of 4% in 2021, with an even lower expected rate for 2022 - resulting in a similarly unimpressive labor market. Unlike most other countries, inflation in Ecuador has increased but not to extraordinary levels, resulting in a more beneficial real exchange rate. Perspectives remain muted, with slow but steady growth and no real changes in inflation, although the country's financial position may face complications in the future.
You can find a version of this piece on Ecuador here and read more Alphacast Highlights here
Interested in activity, prices, monetary, fiscal, external sector, and financial data for Ecuador? There are loads of datasets, see for example this Repository which has oficial statistics from from different sources, including both government statistics and datasets produced by private entities. If you are looking for data about Ecuador you'll probably find it here. However, this short guide will help you find the basic "must-see" datasets.
Our Datasets are contained in five sections: Activity, Prices, Money and Banking, Fiscal, External Sector and Financial.
Activity
To track the economic activity of the Ecuadorian Economy, you can monitor the evolution of GDP, Industrial Production, Employment and Wages.
The real economy and labor market show little room for improvement. Following a tepid performance in the years prior to the pandemic, the Ecuadorian economy has recovered slowly and moderately from the steep contraction it suffered in 2020. Real GDP remains more than 2% below pre-pandemic and pre-recession levels, with employment seeing a bumpy but progressive recovery. Given this, and the fact that both employment and output seemed stagnant over the previous decade, it is unlikely that growth takes off in Ecuador in the near future, not without significant policy changes.
Prices
For prices and inflation, you can track the main inflation metrics for Ecuador, such as the Core and Headline Inflation, and its groups in this Dataset.
Inflation has not proven a major challenge to the Ecuadorian economy. Given the fact that Ecuador's official currency is the US dollar, it has enjoyed a remarkable degree of price stability over the past 15 years. However, the weakness of the domestic economy was reflected on the fact that the country suffered moderate deflation before the pandemic, which worsened during 2020. The price level acccelerated in mid 2021, as a result of fiscal stimulus policies and international commodity prices, as well as the acceleration of prices in the United States, but has grown far below international standards - around 4% in Q3-2022, compared to twice that rate for the United States and even higher levels for its LatAm peers.
Money and Banking
Money and banking data tracks variables, such as the Monetary Aggregates and Interest rates. If you are curious about interest rates in Ecuador and other daily variables, check it out this Dataset. Other relevant information is:
Fiscal
The Fiscal data tracks the evolution of the Fiscal Accounts and the Debt of Ecuador. Check it out on the following datasets:
External Sector
In the External Sector Section you can track variables such as Trade Balance, Exchanges Rates and Balance of Payments:
- External Trade
- Imports and Exports by type of product
- Real Exchange Rate
From the published data you will be able to combine, transform, and create your own variables or indicators as well. For example, monthly trade balance data, which isn't directly published by INEC or BCE, was calculated by one user here.
Financial
Finally, for Financial Data there is plenty of information about Mexico's Risk Premium, Stock Market, Government Bonds, and Equities. Beyond Mexico, we have a comprehensive dataset covering the Risk Premium for multiple countries, take a look here.
Ecuador's real exchange rate depreciates, while the country's financial position suffers. Given low inflation (versus international rates) and increases in the price of commodities, Ecuador's real exchange rate has gained signficantly, growing 3% above mid-2019 levels. However, Ecuador's financials seem to be facing major trouble, with the country's renegotiation with the IMF having raised risk premiums to their highest levels in 20 years. Recent developments such as the declining intenrational price for oil and political conflict have raised the risk premium after a year of relative stability.
If you want to further explore Ecuaodiran Data you can click here and filter the categories you are interested in. Also, you can find datasets which compile information of several countries, such as OECD or BIS.
