RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Chilean economy grew slower than previous months but returned to double-digit growth for the sixth consecutive month. On Tuesday, the Central Bank said that Imacec (Monthly Index of Business Activity) rose 15.6% in September. A Bloomberg survey also estimated that economic activity would increase 12.3% in the ninth month.
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The issuing agency noted that all components of the Imacec increased compared to the same period last year, “highlighting the contribution of service activities and, to a lesser extent, the production of goods and trade.”
“This result is mainly explained by the greater openness of the economy, the support measures for households, the partial withdrawals from pension funds, and the lower basis of comparison of September last year,” it said.
For the month, economic activity grew 1.7% (seasonally adjusted), driven by the performance of services, which were caused by fewer mobility constraints than the previous month.
PERFORMANCE BY ACTIVITY
The services sector increased 3.6% from August, while services increased 19.0% over the past 12 months. The driving force was personal services, particularly education and health services. To a lesser extent, trade, hotels and restaurants, and transport also contributed to the result.
In terms of production – which increased by 7.5% year-on-year – the driving force was the other goods group, which grew by 19.5%, coupled with the performance of construction and manufacturing, which rose by 10.4%.
Seasonally adjusted goods production decreased by 0.2% compared to the previous month. This result was driven by the decline in mining, partially offset by increases in other goods and manufacturing.
Commerce grew by 20.3%, attributable to all its components, the report said. In September, wholesale sales of machinery and equipment and retail sales of clothing, footwear, and household goods were noted.
Seasonally adjusted, this sector increased by 0.4% compared to the previous month.