Ecuador increasingly dependent on oil and China

Growth in Ecuador may continue its upward trend in early-2012 as a series of supply shocks and geopolitical risks keep oil prices elevated, according to Capital Economics.

With average Oriente crude prices rising by around 35 percent year-on-year in 2011, the economy seems to have grown by over 8 percent. Despite stagnant production growth, the strength of oil prices helped prevent a further deterioration of Ecuador’s trade deficit in Q4, giving the government room to maintain heavy social spending, says Capital Economics. Read Article