Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Central Bank President Roberto Lagos said the 25-basis-point increase in Honduras's monetary policy rate will not immediately or sharply raise credit costs, as the bank is managing the adjustment gradually and the full transmission to borrowing rates typically takes about six months.

Honduras's year-on-year inflation climbed from 3.46% in February to 6.20% in August 2026, driven largely by rising international oil prices, prompting the central bank to take steps to contain the impact.

Honduras has 3.79 million employed workers with average monthly income reaching L10,356 (about $415), up 6.9% from 2025, though unemployment rose to 7.1% and 61.1% of households remain below the poverty line.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $88.6 million in foreign exchange on September 21, setting the official exchange rate at L26.8862 per dollar for September 22.

Food prices across Honduras's basic basket are climbing due to fuel costs and weather damage, threatening families' ability to afford traditional holiday meals in December, warns a food-security researcher at UNAH.

The Central Bank of Honduras raised its policy interest rate to 6%, a decision that now comes from President Roberto Lagos, who as an outside critic in 2024 had warned that similar rate increases by the previous government risked raising loan costs across the financial system.

Fuel prices have driven up operating costs for Honduran companies by 15%, particularly in transport and distribution, while higher prices for goods and services are eroding household purchasing power and forcing businesses to seek cost-cutting alternatives.

Honduras has received over $8 billion in family remittances so far in 2026, bolstering international reserves and macroeconomic stability, though an economist warns that dependence on these flows leaves the economy vulnerable to shifts in migration policy or conditions for Hondurans abroad.

Honduras's Energy Ministry announced increases across fuel products effective September 21, with premium gasoline climbing L4.57 per gallon in Tegucigalpa and kerosene rising L4.69, driving up costs for drivers and businesses nationwide.

Honduras's tax authority is offering taxpayers a chance to settle overdue tax obligations without penalties, interest, or surcharges under Decree 07-2026, available through October 12.

An economist warns that the Central Bank of Honduras's increase in its policy rate to 6% will quickly push up interest rates charged by commercial banks, raising borrowing costs for consumers and businesses.

The Central Bank of Honduras auctioned $83.8 million in a foreign-exchange sale on September 18, setting an average exchange rate of L26.8904 per dollar for September 19–21.

A former president of Honduras's economists' association said the government's decision to raise the fuel subsidy from 50% to 65% warrants scrutiny given global oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel, and cautioned that prolonged subsidies strain public finances.

Honduras's jobless population jumped from 211,015 people in 2025 to 290,314 in 2026—a gain of nearly 80,000 unemployed—prompting warnings from economic analysts about the need for investment and productivity measures.

Honduras's Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 6%, effective Monday, citing inflation that reached 6.2% in August and exceeded the target range.

Honduras's 2026–2027 wage agreement includes a safeguard clause that triggers an automatic minimum-wage adjustment if year-on-year inflation in December surpasses 7%, protecting workers' purchasing power against rising prices.

Honduras's commercial banks are capturing more private-sector deposits, particularly savings accounts from households buoyed by incoming family remittances, the Central Bank reports.

Honduras National Statistics Institute officials cite high fuel costs and unemployment—worsened by reduced private investment—as the main factors pressuring household incomes, describing poverty as a structural challenge spanning decades.

Honduras exported 630 metric tons of fine and aromatic cacao through September 2026, generating $2.8 million in revenue, with most shipments bound for Central America and about 70 processing companies adding value to the crop.

Honduras's private-sector council will analyze the draft national budget to assess how funds will be spent, whether increases go toward productive investment or routine expenses, and how the government will finance a $700 million bond payment due in January.

Collective taxi drivers in Honduras announced a plan to raise fares by 5 lempiras (from 25 to 30 lempiras) citing high fuel costs, while seeking government subsidies; sector leader Rigo Cerrato threatened a nationwide strike if authorities do not meet with them by next week.

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras received $29.1 billion in remittances in the first seven months of 2026, a 7.1% increase from the same period in 2025, with Honduras seeing an 11.2% year-over-year gain.

With over 70,000 Hondurans losing protected status in the US, economists warn that potential returnees will strain Honduras's already-weak job market, which lacks sufficient formal employment and faces a skills gap between workers and employer needs.

The central bank auctioned $105.6 million in its currency market on September 17, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.8817 per dollar for September 18.

Honduras's unemployment rate climbed to 7.1% and poverty affected 61.1% of households in 2026, according to the National Institute of Statistics survey, driven by reduced activity in manufacturing, agriculture, and food services.

Honduras's proposed 2027 budget of L455.4 billion would grow L11 billion over 2026, but an analyst warns that only 57% of this year's budget has been spent with 71% of the year gone.

Honduras's national university identified four structural failures—remittance dependence, labor informality, low-value exports, and fiscal weakness—and proposed six reform pillars to transform the economy and reduce poverty, which remains stuck at 60% of the population.

Only four of Banasupro's 100 distribution points have eggs available at the agreed price of L95 per carton, two weeks after the government promised nationwide rollout, while market prices remain at L120–150.

Honduras's public debt reached 451.9 billion lempiras (about $18.1 billion) as of August 31, 2026, a 49.3 billion lempira increase from a year earlier, driven by external borrowing from the Inter-American Development Bank and other creditors to finance the central government budget.

The president of Honduras's grain producers association is urging Congress to exempt the 15% tax on grain drying, citing a sharp rise in production costs and the impact on over a million quintals (about 45,000 metric tons) ahead of the September harvest season.