Above: Port of Spain (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is “poised for a modest recovery” in 2013, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF’s Executive Board recently concluded its Article IV consultation with the country.

“The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is poised for a modest recovery in 2013, after disappointing growth in 2012 that was due largely to supply constraints, including maintenance operations in the energy sector and an industrial dispute in the non-energy sector,” the fund said in a statement.

Trinidad’s economy is projected to grow by 1.5 percent this year, with risk slightly to the downside, the fund said. The country grew by just 0.2 percent last year, according to an estimate from the IMF.

The IMF’s Executive Directors said they “welcomed the signs of economic recovery,” which was fueled by the growth of the country’s non-energy sector.

The IMF’s projection is slightly lower than that recently released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, which projected growth of 2 percent.

The fund also said that while unemployment was “low” at about 5 percent, underemployment remained “significant.”