Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Premium gasoline, regular gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices increased Sept. 7, with diesel climbing L2.46 per gallon to L145.69 (about $5.80) in Tegucigalpa, while domestic cooking gas held steady under government subsidy.

Honduras's official exchange rate climbed to L26.8727 per dollar on September 7, up L0.0077 from Friday, reflecting a slight strengthening of the US currency against the lempira.

Finance Minister Emilio Hernández announced the 2027 budget totals 457 billion lempiras (about $18.3 billion), a 13-billion-lempira increase from 2026, with priority allocations for education, health, security, and defense.

Honduras's country risk fell to 1.46%, its lowest in more than a decade, though analysts warn that converting the improved financial indicator into private investment and better living conditions remains a major challenge.

Economist Santiago Herrera warns that cancellation of the US Temporary Protected Status for Hondurans could reduce remittance inflows by up to $380 million, threatening households dependent on those transfers and straining the country's ability to reabsorb returned workers.

President Nasry Asfura highlighted the state electricity utility's financial crisis, citing cumulative losses of 118 billion lempiras (about $4.7 billion) as a central challenge facing the administration.

Honduras has again been listed as a candidate country for Millennium Challenge Corporation funding in 2027, a US-backed program supporting governance and economic development, according to CCIT vice president Enrique Jaar.

Honduras's Energy Justice Law establishes a three-month amnesty period for users with illegal or tampered electrical connections to voluntarily comply and avoid civil or criminal penalties, after which ENEE and authorities will pursue enforcement.

Two educated Hondurans—a lawyer who returned after studying abroad and an architect who stayed—demonstrate that retaining skilled workers requires domestic opportunities in sectors like special economic zones and international projects.

Finance Minister Emilio Hernández says Honduras may qualify for Millennium Challenge Account funds, though 2025's fiscal challenges—legislative delays, missed economic targets, and payment arrears—could affect eligibility; a cabinet delegation will travel to Washington next week to discuss the account and International Monetary Fund issues.

Economist Liliana Castillo argues the government should hold the 2027 budget flat rather than increase it, citing poor spending execution rates—some agencies executing only 25% of allocations—and low productive investment at just 5% of the budget.

The Régimen de Aportaciones Privadas (RAP), Honduras's private pension fund, expects to hold nearly L50 billion (about $2 billion) in assets by December, all belonging to enrolled workers, and has cut housing-loan rates to 9–10.5% to boost homeownership and construction activity.

Honduras's government and poultry producers, representing 80% of national output, agreed to cut the price of a carton of eggs to 95 lempiras (about $3.80) at Banasupro stores nationwide and 104 lempiras (about $4.15) at Mercado Zonal Belén, with monthly cost reviews to follow.

Mayors from Lempira municipalities reported 100% crop losses from ongoing drought and traveled to Tegucigalpa seeking government relief, while the national farm federation warned Honduras should be declared in emergency.

The electrical regulator (CREE) is expected to approve a 17% rate increase on September 30, but a six-month rate freeze and state subsidies enacted by Congress will prevent the increase from reaching residential and vulnerable consumers.

Honduras's agricultural sector is reporting significant losses from adverse weather, with corn production down roughly 30% across evaluated plots and livestock output declining 10–40%; the Agriculture Ministry is distributing 20 million lempiras (about $800,000) in feed aid and crop incentives to affected farmers and ranchers.

The head of Honduras's small-business chamber, Victorino Carranza, called on Congress's recent electricity system reforms to cut operating costs for micro and small enterprises, saying companies should pay only for energy consumed and that unpredictable rates now hamper financial planning.

Honduras suffers over 165 hours of blackouts yearly—versus fewer than 9 in El Salvador—costing businesses more than $100 million annually, and analysts warn the new Energy Justice Law's impact depends on institutional capacity to implement it.

Thomas R. Hardy, operations director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, said energy-sector reform and infrastructure projects linking Honduras's Atlantic and Pacific coasts are essential to drawing American investment and strengthening the country's economy.

The electricity regulator warns Honduras risks power rationing next year unless it rapidly adds new generation capacity through competitive bidding, which it says—not tax breaks—will lower energy costs.

Economic Development Minister Eddy Ordóñez warned merchants and producers that those unable to justify recent egg-carton price increases above 14 lempiras face fines of 1,000 to 10,000 minimum wages and possible month-long business closures.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina says Honduras faces no food shortage and markets are adequately stocked despite recent weather damage, with new harvests expected from mid-September onward.

Cohep president Anabel Gallardo said legal and economic uncertainty is a major barrier to attracting investment and formal employment, citing losses in the power sector, flaws in part-time labor law, and the need for job creation to retain Hondurans rather than rely on migration and remittances.

Honduras's new Energy Justice Law temporarily freezes ENEE electricity rates for six months, allows eligible low-income households to seek forgiveness of accumulated debts up to 250 kWh monthly consumption, and creates tax breaks for residential solar-panel systems.

Sergio Zepeda, director of the UNAH's Institute for Economic and Social Research, called on the government to prioritize education, health, and productive investment in the 2027 budget draft due to Congress by September 15, arguing that spending must support development, not just cover operating costs.

The Honduran lempira has weakened past 27 per dollar, raising costs for basic goods, fuel, medicines, and utilities in an import-dependent economy where domestic production cannot meet demand.

Finance Secretary Emilio Hernández Hércules said the government will send its 2027 budget proposal to Congress on September 14, aiming to maintain a 1.0% fiscal deficit under the Fiscal Responsibility Law and avoid unsustainable debt.

An economist argues the Central Bank's strategy of allowing lempira devaluation to accumulate international reserves is driving inflation and eroding household purchasing power, despite reserves of $11.5 billion being ample to stabilize the currency.

More than 1,400 formal businesses have shut down and registered with Honduras's tax authority (SAR) since 2022, with 200 closures occurring so far this year, concentrated in Francisco Morazán, Cortés, and Comayagua departments.

Economist Henry Rodríguez projects the lempira will weaken to 27.20–27.25 per dollar by year-end and urges Honduras to strengthen domestic production and tighten monetary policy to combat devaluation that drives up consumer prices.