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Chile's economy plunges over 9 pct in Q3

Xinhua News,SANTIAGO
2020-11-19 05:56

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SANTIAGO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chile's economy plunged 9.1 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period of 2019, a smaller contraction than the 14.5 percent drop registered in the second quarter of 2020, the Central Bank of Chile said Wednesday.

According to the bank, between July and September, the novel coronavirus pandemic "continued to influence the mobility of people and the normal operation of productive establishments."

During the period, the worst-hit activities were personal services, construction, transportation, restaurants and hotels, and business services.

From a spending perspective, the impact of the health crisis was reflected in lower household consumption, mainly due to lower spending on services, as well as a drop in investment.

However, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, signalling "a recovery in economic activity in line with the gradual lifting of sanitary control measures" and implementation of "economic measures to support households," among other steps, the bank said.

Despite the technical recession facing Chile, after two consecutive quarters of negative growth for the first time in 11 years, Economy Minister Lucas Palacios said the lower drop in GDP "is good news" and shows "the economy has started to recover."

The bank expects the economy to shrink by up to 5.5 percent in 2020 and to grow between 4 and 5 percent in 2021.
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