[Economics] Chilean economy grows 1.6% in March and 7.2% year-on-year

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Santiago de Chile, May 2 (EFE).- The Chilean economy increased by 1.6% in March compared to the previous month and grew by 7.2% year-on-year, accelerating as it exceeded market expectations, mainly supported by the service area , informed this Monday the Central Bank.

“These are positive numbers. We know that it is reasonable that growth, given the totally exceptional growth that the economy had last year, is taking a more stable course. We are very happy that this trajectory is taking place with some calm, "said the Minister of Economy, Nicolás Gray.

“It is a good figure, but it does not mean that we have to lower our arms and slow down our work,” added the Secretary of State.

 

SANTIAGO (CHILE), 12/20/2021.- President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks during a press conference today, at La Moneda Palace, in Santiago (Chile). The newly elected president of Chile, the leftist Gabriel Boric, said Monday that he will appoint his cabinet "as soon as possible", predictably before the end of January, and that it will be a team "that delivers certainties." EFE/Elvis Gonzalez
The Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (Imacec), an index that gathers 91% of the goods and services of the gross domestic product (GDP), was above the 6.2% expected by analysts.

After growing around 20% year-on-year in June of last year -largely due to the low comparison base of the previous year, with an economy hit by the pandemic-, monthly growth has been falling and since last January they have been below below 10%.

«The result of Imacec was mainly explained by the increase in service activities. Meanwhile, the production of goods fell, mainly affected by mining and other goods," the issuing entity said in a statement.

According to the agency, commercial activity grew by 8.6% "mainly driven by retail and wholesale sales of clothing, footwear and household equipment and, to a lesser extent, by the automotive trade", while the seasonally adjusted figures showed an increase of 0.5% compared to February.

On the other hand, the production of goods fell 1.5% due to the “performance of mining and other goods with rates of -2.4% and -1.1% respectively. Meanwhile, the manufacturing industry grew by 3.3%». In seasonally adjusted terms, the area decreased an increase of 3.9% compared to the previous month.

Services, the most dynamic activity of the period, grew 12.2% «explained by the performance of personal services. They also contributed to the result of the grouping, transport and business services, "said the Central Bank.

 

The pandemic, which already leaves more than 3.5 million defects and 57,000 deaths, begins to retreat after registering a massive spike in infections in January and February due to the rapid expansion of the omicron variant.

The country did not impose new mobility restrictions and has implemented one of the most successful vaccination processes in the world, which reaches 94.4% of the target po[CENSORED]tion with two doses and more than 13 million of the almost 19 million inhabitants with a booster dose. EFE (I)

 

Link: https://www.larepublica.ec/blog/2022/05/02/economia-chilena-crece-un-16-en-marzo-y-72-interanual/