Economy tops expectations, growing a surprising 5% for June

SANTIAGO.- The Central Bank has reported that the Chilean economy grew 5% in June compared to the same month during the previous year.

The deseasonlized series climbed 1.4% from the previous month, while the cycle tendency registered a yearly upswing of 5.9%.

The monthly results indicated positive trends in the areas of Trade and Communications, as well as an increase in added value for electric generation.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the Monthly Economic Indicator (known in Chile as the IMACEC) for May to be at approximately 3.1%.

Last year, the Chilean economy grew by 5.1%, while the growth figure for June of 2007 was 6.2%, 4% in June of 2006, 7.1% in June of 2005 and 4.7% in June of 2004.

The Central Bank plans to publish the preliminary GDP figures for the second trimester of this year on August 25th.