Chilean economy grows 3.5% compared to April 2023 thanks in part to the services sector

The chilean economy grew by 3.5% in April compared to the same month in 2023, thanks largely to the outstanding performance of the services sector, the central bank of the South American country.

The rise in the Monthly Economic Activity Indicator (Imacec), which is considered an advance estimate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is within the margins estimated by the market, considering that the month had three more business days than in 2023, experts explained.

As detailed by the issuing entity, “All activities contributed to the annual growth of Imacec, highlighting the performance of services” with an increase of 0.2% compared to the previous month.

The production of goods, for its part, increased 4.8% in annual terms, highlighting the growth of electricity generation and food production in industry.

Compared to the previous month, the production of goods presented a contraction of 0.5%, explained by the performance of mining, which fell 2.4%.

Commercial activity, meanwhile, presented a year-on-year increase of 6.4%, highlighting wholesale sales, particularly of food, household goods and clothing. Compared to the previous month, the sector marked a contraction of 1.4%.

Chile recovered faster than expected after the pandemic, with a historic GDP increase of 11.7% in 2021, but in 2022 it began to slow down and closed with 2.4% growth.

With inflation contained, which closed 2023 at 3.9%, the great challenge of Chili For this year it is to return to the path of growth, after avoiding contraction and closing 2023 with an increase of 0.2%.

For now, the projections of the central bank and different international organizations predict that the Chilean economy will grow again at around 2% in 2024.

At the beginning of the month, the Government created the so-called “Economic growth cabinet”, made up of several ministers and whose objective is to promote and accelerate different investment projects, both public and private, and to encourage key sectors such as mining and construction.