Chile’s economic activity down 10.7% in July, better than expectations

By Aislinn Laing

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s economic activity was down 10.7% in July from the same month a year ago, the central bank said on Tuesday, an improvement on the 12.5% drop expected by the market as the Latin American country remained under strict lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The bank’s IMACEC economic activity index encompasses about 90% of the economy tallied in gross domestic product figures.

Economic activity rose 1.7% compared with the previous month, while the world’s top copper producer managed to keep its industrial engine on the road, with mining activity increasing by 1.4% from the same period the previous year.

Non-mining economic activity fell by 12%. The most affected sectors were construction and services, namely transport, restaurants and hotels, and, to a lesser extent, trade and the manufacturing industry.

During July, half of the country remained in strict lockdown while case numbers regularly reached between 2,500 and 3,000 and deaths often exceeded 100 daily.

This week, with cases now largely below 2,000 a day, the government has said it will continue to ease lockdowns during weekdays and weekends for most of the capital and large parts of the country.

(Reporting by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Jonathan Oatis)