The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago said today that the oil-rich twin island Republic is “officially in a recession” after it failed to post any economic growth for any quarter of 2015.
A recession, which is a sustained period of general economic decline, is defined as a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two or more consecutive quarters.
Central Bank Governor, Jwala Rambarran gave the confirmation at the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Forum this morning.
According to the Trinidad Guardian Newspaper, Rambarran said the recession was triggered by prolonged supply disruptions in the energy sector that resulted in shortfalls in natural gas which in turn adversely affected output of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals.
He said noticeable signs of the recession will start to set in next year, as businesses begin to cut back on investments, consumers hold back on spending and banks loans become fewer.
