Economy exceeds projections and registers 6.2% growth in July

To see international photos, click here

SANTIAGO.- The Central Bank announced this morning that the Chilean economy grew by 6.2% in July when compared to the same month in 2007.

The deseasonalized series decreased by 0.4% with respect to the previous month, while the trend-cycle series registered an annualized expansion of 5.6%.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that the Monthly Economic Activity Indicator (Imacec) for July would be at about 4.9% on average.

The existence of two extra business days when compared to July of 2007 contributed to the positive growth figure. Additionally, improved activity in the areas of Commerce (both wholesale and resale), Communications, and the value added increase in electrical generation contributed to the growth, according to the Central Bank.

The Chilean economy grew 4.3% in the second trimester when compared to the same period of last year. In total, the economy of Chile grew 5.1% last year.