Chile: Economic activity picks up in February before imminent downturn in March
In February, the IMACEC economic activity index grew 2.7% on an annual basis, up from January’s 1.1% increase. That said, the brief recovery seen in the Chilean economy following October’s civil unrest is set to have come to an end in March as the measures taken to curtail the spread of Covid-19 hammered activity.
February’s increase reflected a 10.4% expansion in the mining economy, accelerating from January’s 2.2%. Meanwhile, the non-mining economy registered growth of 2.0%, up from 1.5% in the month prior thanks to upbeat activity in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
In month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms, economic activity rose 0.6% over the previous month in February, decelerating from January’s 1.5% expansion.