Peru’s Economy Expands for Fourth Straight Month in July

• Peru's economy has expanded for the fourth consecutive month in July 2024, fueled by all sectors except agriculture, official data showed on Sunday, September 15, continuing the country's recovery following a recession last year.
• For years, Peru has been one of South America's top economic performers. However, last year, the economy shrank 0.6%, affected by adverse weather, lower private investment and ripple effects from anti-government protests that hit mining.
• The 4.47% year-on-year growth in July according to the INEI, outdid an estimate from the chief economist of Peru's central bank last week, who expected expansion of around 4%. (The INEI is the Spanish acronym for the Government of Peru's National Institute of Statistics and Information),
• The chief economist expects larger investments to help the recovery, in line with the Peruvian government’s 2024 growth target of 3.2%. The July growth marks a significant jump from the month before when Peru, the world's third-largest copper producer, logged an economic expansion of 0.21%.
• Manufacturing in July rose 10.91%, while the mining and hydrocarbons sector expanded 3.10%, driven by metallic mining activity including growth in molybdenum concentrate and silver. However, production of zinc, copper and iron decreased.
• On the other hand, the agriculture sector shrank by 3.93%, due to smaller planted areas, weather issues and some early harvesting, which led to lower volumes of olives, dry beans, paprika, potatoes, cocoa and hard yellow corn.

(Source: Reuters)