Chilean economy spun seven months of growth at double-digit rates in October

The momentum of the Chilean economy continues. In October, the Monthly Index of Economic Activity (Imacec) grew 15% in twelve months, according to the report published this Wednesday by the Central Bank.

With this, the performance of the activity is located at the top of the market expectations, which oscillated between 14% and 17% after knowing the trade and industry data reported yesterday for the tenth month of the year, and as anticipated from London the president of the entity, Mario Marcel.

Thus, the indicator exhibits a double-digit expansion for the seventh consecutive month, as the reopening of the economy consolidates and the vaccination process advances. With this, the Chilean economy accumulates a growth of 11.9% between January and October of this year, according to the Central’s statistical database, thus exceeding the expectation contemplated in the September Report.

In the seasonally adjusted series, the increase was 0.8% compared to the previous month and 14.3% in twelve months. The month registered one business day less than October 2020. All the components of Imacec grew compared to the same period of the previous year, highlighting the contribution of service activities and, to a lesser extent, trade and the production of goods.

This result was explained, in part, by the greater openness of the economy, the measures to support households and the partial withdrawals of pension funds, according to the Central’s report. For its part, the seasonally adjusted growth of Imacec was explained by the performance of the production of goods, particularly mining, an effect that was partially offset by the fall in services.

According to the report, the annual increase in the production of goods (4.7%) was led by the “rest of goods” group, which grew 9.1%, associated with the performance of construction. Manufacturing (3.7%) and mining (0.6 percent) also contributed. In the month, according to seasonally adjusted data, the goods production sector grew 2.6% compared to the previous month, thanks to the push from mining that stood out with a rise of 9.6 percent.

In commerce, the retail sales of clothing, footwear and household equipment stood out, as well as the wholesale sales of household goods in the annual comparison. Meanwhile, compared to the previous month, the seasonally adjusted figures show a variation of 0.1%, moderating their dynamism.

The twelve-month performance of services is mainly explained by personal services, in particular education and health. To a lesser extent, business services, restaurants and hotels, and transportation also contributed to the result.