FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pleased that steps taken and being taken by Government are contributing to a sustained economic recovery.

In a statement issued by his ministry on March 11, Imbert said this position was articulated by the IMF in its latest Article IV report on Trinidad and Tobago.

He added that the findings of the IMF only happened because his ministry and the Government "have exercised fiscal discipline over the last eight years, thus creating the conditions for sustained growth.

The IMF’s 2024 Article IV visit to Trinidad and Tobago occurred between February 28-March 8.

During that time, the IMF mission met with a number of stakeholders, government departments, private-sector organisations and state institutions and comprehensively analysed detailed economic data on Trinidad and Tobago.

In its Article IV report, also issued on March 11, the IMF said, "For the first time in a decade, Trinidad and Tobago is undergoing a gradual and sustained economic recovery. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rebounded in 2022 and is estimated to have further expanded by 2.1 per cent in 2023.

The IMF attributed this to the strong performance of the non-energy sector which was partially offset by a contraction in the energy sector.

Inflation declined to 0.3 per cent in January after peaking at 8.7 per cent in December 2022.

The IMF said the latter inflation figure was due to declining food and imported goods' inflation.

The IMF was also satisfied that Trinidad and Tobago's foreign reserves coverage was adequare at 6.6 months of prospective total imports by 2029.

The fiscal balance in last financial year was broadly in line with the 2023/2024 budget.

The IMF said, "The overall fiscal deficit is estimated at 1.1 per cent of GDP in Financial Year 2023, 0.2 percentage points better than initially budgeted. This reflects higher non-energy revenue and lower than budgeted capital expenditure."

Public financial buffers, the IMF continued, remained strong with total assets in the Heritage and Stabilization Fund at US$5.5 billion (19.2 percent of GDP) by the end of the last financial year.

The IMF projected real GDP to expand by 2.4 per cent this year.

This growth is being linked to non-energy sector and new energy projects coming onstream that the IMF saidh will help offset the structural decline in energy production.

"Over the medium term, the delivery of several planned natural gas projects is expected to boost growth in the energy sector, while supporting economic activity in the non-energy sector."

While the IMF viewed Trinidad and Tobago's economic outlook as positive, it did identify some risks.

"In the near term, downside risks stem from external factors affecting energy markets (eg, an abrupt global slowdown) and disappointments in domestic energy production (eg., delays in new projects or unexpected disruptions in current production). In the medium term, the balance of risks is to the upside, stemming from additional new natural gas proje