Indicators Show Robust Improvement in Peru Business Activity Through October

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) on Friday, November 13th, affirmed that the Peruvian economy is recovering faster than expected, considering the leading indicators of some productive activities.

“Current indicators show a more robust recovery, stronger than initially anticipated. So far, when one looks at electricity and domestic cement consumption indicators, a significant recovery can be observed,” BCR Economic Studies Central Manager Adrian Armas affirmed.

“The recovery comes from the private investment side, particularly from the construction sector, and basically, we are referring to self-construction, that is, it (the recovery) is being fueled by investments made by families, who are using their savings to enlarge their homes during this pandemic,” he added.

According to Armas, leading indicators continued to show a significant improvement in economic activity last October. However, they remain below the levels of the previous year.

“The electricity data shows a 0.4 percent drop in October. This indicator constituted its biggest contraction in April, but a recovery has been observed month after month,” he stated.

The contraction in electricity production is smaller and smaller, considering that it fell 27.4 percent in March, 30 percent in April, 25.4 percent in May, 12.4 percent in June, 5.9 percent in July, 2.8 percent in August, 1.9 percent in September, and only 0.4 percent in October.

Domestic cement consumption

Furthermore, domestic cement consumption saw heavy drops in March (-51 percent), April (-98.6 percent), May (-65.1 percent), June (-32.7 percent) and July (-4.5 percent), but increases in August (1.6 percent), September (7.1 percent), and October (16.7 percent).

“It (domestic cement consumption) has shown positive rates since August, mainly driven by the private sector and self-construction,” the BCR official stated.

Source: Andina