Data from Chile’s central bank released on Thursday showed that the country’s economy grew by 0.8% over the first quarter of 2023. This is the second consecutive quarter of growth for Chile in what has been a slow economic recovery after several major drops last year.
Chile’s economic growth fell marginally short of estimates, with a consensus of economists polled by Reuters forecasting a 1% growth for the South American nation from January to March.
Despite achieving a second positive quarter-on-quarter growth in a row, Chile’s economy shrunk 0.6% on a yearly basis compared to the first quarter of 2022.
The world’s largest copper producer, Chile faced a decline in its copper industry last year during the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The slowdown followed an aggressive rise in inflation, with in turn prompted the nation’s central bank to enforce a strict monetary policy.
Optimistic forecasts by the central bank see the Chilean economy growing by 1% to 2% over the course of 2023, while the most bleak outlook would be a 0.5% contraction.