Honduras Economy News

ASJ economist Obed García warned that Honduras's public debt has grown to roughly equal the entire national budget, leaving little fiscal room for salaries, public investment, and essential services if the government were to address it.

Experts debated Honduras's urgent need for electricity-sector reform, warning that failure to reach consensus by July will worsen blackouts, increase public debt, and deter foreign investment, as lawmakers disagree over whether new utilities should remain state-owned or allow private investment.

An economist at civic watchdog group ASJ warns that Honduras's rising public debt could approach $25 billion within years without policy changes, and calls for greater investment in infrastructure, ports, education, and energy to drive sustainable growth.

Honduras recorded a foreign-exchange surplus of $1.4 billion in the first half of 2026, led by remittances of $6.6 billion, which exceeded prior-year inflows by 12.4%.

Honduras's business-confidence index (ICAE) reached 63.9 points in June 2026, its highest level for that month in six years, signaling strengthening optimism among entrepreneurs.

The head of the Cortés Chamber of Commerce called for stronger vocational and technical training to match Honduras's labor-market needs, ahead of a July 17 Employability Summit bringing together private companies, schools, and government officials.

Dante Mossi, former president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, says the government lacks a public strategy to manage ENEE's $1 billion debt to power generators, a $700 million sovereign bond due in January 2027, and roughly $3 billion in stalled infrastructure projects including roads, dams, and hospitals.

Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules reported that Honduras has executed more than 42% of its 48-billion-lempira budget (about $1.9 billion) two and a half months after its April approval, with spending focused on infrastructure, health, and upcoming housing programs through Banhprovi.

Obed García of the ASJ argues Honduras must streamline its 116 public institutions and reduce bureaucratic overhead to improve spending efficiency and remove regulatory barriers slowing investment.

Obed García, an economist at the Association for Justice, says Honduras should use public borrowing to fund infrastructure and productive projects rather than other spending, citing existing road and economic plans and the need to create jobs for 300,000 unemployed people.

The Central Bank of Honduras is alerting the public to fraudulent documents falsely bearing the bank's name and official-looking graphics used to solicit payments for nonexistent loans; it urges people not to pay or share personal data.

The Central Bank of Honduras sold $98.3 million in its daily currency auction on July 14, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.7580 per dollar for July 15.

Honduras received $6.51 billion in family remittances in the first six months of 2026, a 12.3% increase from the same period in 2025, with over 85% coming from the United States and mothers receiving 38.6% of the total.

As of May 2026, Honduras's central bank's external debt consists of loans (59.4%), Special Drawing Rights allocations (38.8%), and other instruments (1.8%).

As of May 2026, Honduras's external public debt stood at $10.76 billion, with 70.1% owed to multilateral organizations, 20.9% to commercial creditors, and 9.0% to bilateral lenders.

Honduras's banking system holds nearly 200 billion lempiras (about $8 billion) in excess liquidity, and economists say the central bank must manage the surplus and maintain its policy rate to avoid stoking inflation.

The Honduran fuel distributors' association says price reductions take longer to reach consumers than increases because of volatile global markets, summer demand surges abroad, and geopolitical uncertainty around Middle Eastern shipping routes.

More than 261,000 Honduran children in child labor earn an average of L4,279 (about $172) monthly—three times less than the L14,917 minimum wage—with rural children and those aged 5–9 earning the least.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $85 million in foreign currency on July 13, setting the weighted-average exchange rate at L26.7565 per dollar for July 14.

Honduras's net international reserves reached $1.29 billion as of July 10, up from January 27, with import coverage holding steady at 6.7 months.

The Central Bank's economic analysis team projects Honduras's economy will grow 3.6% in 2026 and 3.8% in 2027, within the range set by the 2026–2027 monetary program.

The Central Bank of Honduras forecasts year-over-year inflation of 4.97% at the close of 2026, with a declining trend that would bring it within the monetary authority's target range of 3.0–5.0% by June 2028.

Economic analyst Nancy Ochoa projects the Honduran lempira will depreciate by 2.7% for the full year 2026 if current trends continue.

Gasoline and diesel have fallen for seven consecutive weeks in Honduras, but the basic food basket and public transportation costs continue climbing, with analysts noting that oil-price increases pass through quickly while decreases do not.

Honduras has spent only L15.8 billion (about $635 million) of a L46.8 billion public investment budget in the first seven months of 2026, with roads leading at 54.9% execution while energy, transport, health, and education sectors lag well below 20%.

The head of Honduras's business association warns that the state power utility ENEE has 122 billion lempiras ($4.9 billion) in liabilities against 54 billion in assets, and risks having to return to costly diesel generation unless Congress approves new energy legislation and competitive bidding within months.

Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules said the Public Safety Tax will collect over L6 billion (roughly $240 million) this year — up from L5.3–5.4 billion in prior years — driven by economic growth and higher banking transactions, with funds going to police, courts, prosecutors, defense, and the 911 emergency system.

Economist Amparo Canales says Honduras must reassess its economic outlook due to unstable oil prices and rising international inflation, requiring a review of the monetary program in the third quarter as the economic environment shifts.

Honduras is planting 1,000 manzanas (about 700 hectares) with high-yield certified rice seed imported from the Dominican Republic in a pilot program costing roughly 5 million lempiras (about $187,000) to improve grain quality and reduce import dependence.

An economist at Honduras's social auditor's office warns that public debt has climbed to nearly $14 billion—above pre-2006 levels—as the government takes new loans to pay existing obligations, creating a cycle of mounting debt.