Chile’s economic activity marked its first year-on-year decline since February 2021, as trade and manufacturing fell.
The Imacec index, a benchmark of gross domestic product, fell 0.4% in September from the same month last year, according to data released by the Central Bank on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected a 1.1% year-over-year decline.
The seasonally adjusted series rose 0.2% from last month and fell 0.3% over twelve months.
The performance of services drove this growth, the Central Bank said.
This increase comes even though the monetary authority will continue with a high reference interest rate to curb inflation that has reached the highest level in 30 years.
A Bloomberg poll forecast a 0.4% decline for the seasonally adjusted series.
The services sector grew by 2.9% in twelve months and by 0.4% in the month.
Meanwhile, trade and production fell by 10.2% and 4.4% respectively in annual terms.
Andres Perez, chief economist at Itaú, said services continue to show resilience, although all sectors rose compared to August.
“Improving performance could lead to a correction in the economy’s growth this year, although challenging conditions remain for 2023. The coming months should already see more pronounced year-on-year contractions,” he added.
Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Chile would record a contraction of 1.3% next year, the only economy in Latin America and the Caribbean to decline by 2023.
