Samoa : 2018 Article IV consultation : press release; staff report; staff statement; and statement by the Executive Director for Samoa

This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that Samoa's economy has shown resilience and continues to perform well. Growth remained robust at 2.5 percent in 2016/17, driven by commerce, services and agriculture. Inflation picked up to 1.3 percent in 2016/17, compared with close to zero in the previous year, but remains well below the authorities' target of 3 percent. The current account deficit narrowed to 2.3 percent, driven by temporary factors. The Samoan Tala appreciated against the United States dollar during 2016/17, although there was little change in the nominal and real effective exchange rates. Growth is projected to moderate to 1.8 percent in 2017/18 and then rebound in 2018/19, as two new businesses scale up operations at the old Yazaki plant and several infrastructure projects are completed