Chile trade surplus drops 74% during February

SANTIAGO.- Amid a drop in exportation due to the global economic crisis, the Central Bank announced today that Chile registered a trade surplus of US$ 338 million dollars during February - 74% below what had been reported for the same month in 2008.

The financial entity also announced that exports reached US$ 3.285 billion dollars during February, which is 42.2% lower than the figure for the same month last year.

Meanwhile, imports reported a decrease of 32.5% from last year, placing the number at US$ 2.947 billion dollars for February of 2009.

Chile is the world's largest exporter of copper which, after reporting historical high values, has seen prices plummet since mid 2008 as a result of the global crisis.