Peru: Growth in economic activity stable in August
Economic activity expanded 2.3% year-on-year in August, matching July’s reading. National production in the January–August period, meanwhile, rose by 3.8% from the same period in 2017.
Solid consumer spending drove growth in August, while exports growth softened significantly from the previous month. Retail sales expanded at a robust pace in August, and consumer credit growth was buoyant. On the external side, the deceleration in exports growth was due to a fall in foreign sales of traditional products, including: oil, natural gas and mining products. Non-traditional exports, on the other hand, expanded strongly, led by higher sales of agricultural and fishing products.
In terms of productive sectors, almost all sectors continued to expand. In particular, the fishing, agricultural and financial and insurance sectors continued to expand solidly. The agricultural sector benefited from favorable weather conditions. However, both the mining and construction sectors contracted: While the mining sector suffered from weaker production of natural gas and oil, the construction sector was weighed down by declining investment from the national government.
Meanwhile, annual average variation in economic activity came in at 3.3% in August, matching July’s print.