* Chile’s central bank (BCCh) has released new figures which show that the country’s GDP in the first quarter of 2023 increased 0.8% compared with the previous quarter but was down 0.6% in annual terms. The quarterly figure for Q1 follows 0.2% growth in QIV 2022 compared with the previous quarter, -1.1% in QIII 2022, and -0.6% in QII 2022. The worst performing sectors in year-on-year terms for Q1 2023 were agriculture and forestry (-4.1%) and commerce (-3.8%), while mining was down by 0.4%. In contrast, the BCCh reported year-on-year growth for sectors including personal services (+5.0%), electricity, water & gas (+10.4%), housing (+2.4%), and fishing (+23.4%).
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