SANTIAGO – In January, Chile’s economic activity rose 3.9 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said on Monday.
This is the largest such increase in January in two years.
The bank said the IMACEC economic activity index, encompassing about 90 percent of the economy, tallied in gross domestic product figures, was boosted by sharp increases in mining and manufacturing.
Mining growth in Chile, the world’s top copper producer, jumped 8.6 percent on rising copper prices early in 2018, according to the data, while non-mining sectors grew 3.5 percent.
Compared with December, economic activity increased a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent.
Last week, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said it expects the South American country’s economy to grow 2.9 percent in 2018 and 2019 as copper prices rebound and investment recovers gradually.
