Economy & Business - September 2023

CHILE | No growth on the horizon this year. On 6 September, Chile’s central bank (BCCh) revised down the 2023 growth forecast for the country in its September monetary policy report. Where the June edition forecast GDP growth somewhere between -0.5% and 0.25%, the revised projection sees negative or null growth this year, between -0.5% and 0%. The revision comes on the back of a series of negative economic indicators: industrial production fell 1.7% year-on-year in June, the unemployment rate rose 0.9 percentage points in the annual comparison to 8.8% in the rolling quarter ending in July, and the economy shrunk in the second quarter. BCCh figures from August show GDP contracted 0.3% in Q2 compared with Q1 and 1.1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the United Nations’ Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) projects -0.3% growth for Chile this year, below the South American average of 1.2%. The BCCh notes, however, that growth is expected to pick up against next year thanks to the performance of non-mining activities.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 352 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial