Ecuador’s Oil Export Revenue Falls 44% in January
The Wall Street Journal 06/03/2015
Lower oil prices are expected to drag down Ecuador’s economic growth
Ecuador’s crude oil export revenue totaled $598 million in January, down about 44% from a year earlier, due to lower oil prices, the central bank said on Friday.
Lower oil prices are expected to drag down economic growth, in a country whose oil sector generates about one-quarter of total government revenue and about a half of exports.
Economists say Ecuador’s economy will likely grow between 1% and 2% this year.
The average price of crude oil in January decreased 55% to $41.40 a barrel from the previous year.
In terms of volume, Ecuador exported 11.57 million barrels of crude oil in January, a 25% increase from a year earlier and an increase of about 8% from December. All of the oil was exported by Ecuador’s state-owned companies.
Crude oil is Ecuador’s main export, which the Andean country sends primarily to Asia, the U.S. and the Caribbean.
The central bank also said Ecuador produced 17.29 million barrels of crude oil in January, or an average of 558,000 barrels a day.
Petroecuador, Petroamazonas and Río Napo, the three state-run oil companies, produced 13.37 million barrels in January, while private companies produced the remainder.
President Rafael Correa ’s administration has said it plans to maintain public spending to boost economic growth, while also tightening controls on imports to ensure the necessary flow of dollars into its economy. Ecuador uses the U.S. dollar as its official currency.
During the administration of President Correa, who took office in 2007, the country’s growth has been based on strong public spending, driven by high oil prices as well as increased tax collections.
Write to Mercedes Alvaro at mercedes.alvaro@wsj.com
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