Ecuador's economy grew 2% in first half of 2026, says Central Bank

Ecuador's economy expanded by 2.0% in the first half of 2026, a performance that defied contractions in the agricultural and oil sectors. The Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) reported the growth on Saturday, highlighting key contributions from services, manufacturing, construction, and commerce.

The services sector, in particular, led the expansion with a 2.6% interannual increase, contributing 1.2 percentage points to the monthly economic activity indicator. This surge was fueled by greater dynamism in electricity generation and increased lending activity within the financial system, especially in productive, consumer, microcredit, and real estate segments.

Commerce also played a significant role, growing 4.0% in June compared to the previous year and adding 0.6 percentage points to the indicator's growth. This was bolstered by increased sales of vehicles and fuels. Manufacturing and construction also showed robust performance, with interannual growth rates of 4.2% and 3.9% respectively in June.

However, the oil and mining sector experienced a 3.4% contraction, primarily due to reduced domestic crude oil production and a decline in mining exports. Similarly, the agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing sector saw a 1.5% reduction, attributed to lower export volumes of cocoa, bananas, and fishery and aquaculture products, according to BCE data.

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This result is the reflection of greater dynamism in most economic activities, which offset the contractions recorded in oil and mines, as well as in agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing.