{"id":38183,"date":"2026-06-27T08:57:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=38183"},"modified":"2026-06-27T08:57:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:57:48","slug":"liberia-maintains-strong-growth-despite-external-pressures-imf","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/liberia-maintains-strong-growth-despite-external-pressures-imf\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberia maintains strong growth despite external pressures: IMF"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>An IMF team led by Mission Chief Daehaeng Kim visited Monrovia in June to assess progress under the country\u2019s Extended Credit Facility programme and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Fund said Liberia has made solid progress in maintaining macroeconomic stability, with performance against programme targets remaining robust.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Economic activity is projected to remain strong, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth expected at 5.5% in 2026, driven by continued expansion in mining, particularly iron ore, as well as manufacturing and construction.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Inflation has risen slightly but remains contained. Prices increased to 5.3% in May 2026, up from 4% at the end of 2025, despite higher global fuel costs. The IMF attributed this to the limited impact of fuel prices on the consumer basket and a stable exchange rate.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fiscal performance is also expected to stay on track, supported by improvements in domestic revenue collection.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The IMF noted that Liberia\u2019s current account deficit is projected to widen sharply to 18% of GDP in 2026, compared to 7% the previous year. This reflects higher imports, particularly fuel and capital goods linked to mining expansion and infrastructure development.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, the Fund said the medium-term outlook remains positive, with growth supported by investment and economic diversification. The IMF welcomed the government\u2019s commitment to maintaining fiscal discipline while increasing investment in priority areas.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Authorities plan to boost spending on infrastructure and social services, including health and education, alongside targeted support for vulnerable groups. These efforts are being supported by stronger revenue performance and a one-off $200 million payment, equivalent to about 3.5% of GDP.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>IMF staff said discussions with the government were constructive, with agreement reached on policies underpinning the next stage of the programme. Talks are expected to continue as part of the review process.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The mission included meetings with President Joseph Boakai, senior government officials and development partners, reflecting ongoing collaboration to support Liberia\u2019s economic reform agenda.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;IMF\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":38184,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-38183","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Liberia\u2019s economy is expected to remain resilient in 2026, supported by strong performance in key sectors, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following its latest review mission.","published_date":"","news_description":"Liberia\u2019s economy is expected to remain resilient in 2026, supported by strong performance in key sectors, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following its latest review mission.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/38183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/38183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38185,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/38183\/revisions\/38185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=38183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}