Chilean trade surplus fell 70.7% in January

SANTIAGO.– The Central Bank released information today indicating that Chile's trade surplus for January plummeted to US$ 667.8 million, down 70.7% from the same month of the previous year.

The positive balance for the first month of 2009 does not compare favorably to the US$ 2.2826 billion accrued in the same period of 2008.

The January nosedive solidified after the country registered exports of US$ 3.8337 billion, which represents a decline of 41.3%, and imports of US$ 3.1659 billion, representing a plummet of 25.5%.

Chile is the largest producer of copper in world, and the recent drop in the price of this prime commodity has caused a collapse in the overall value of Chilean exports.

Copper represents almost half of the export earnings for the entire nation, and it has experienced a severe tumble from its highest value of the year in July (US$ 4.07 per pound) to the current average of US$ 1.40 per pound as a result of the international financial crisis.

For all of 2008, the Chilean trade surplus totaled US$ 10.160 billion, 57% less than the previous year.