Chilean economy contracts 3.9% in February

SANTIAGO.- According to an announcement made today by the Central Bank, the Chilean economy registered a contraction of 3.9% during February of this year when compared to the same month in 2008. The drop is the most significant decrease since May of 1999 and is the figure's fourth monthly decline in a row.

The deseasonalized series dropped by 0.3% when compared to the previous month, while the cyclical tendency series registered an annualized decrease of 0.7%.

The Central Bank explained that the figure revealed today was negatively affected by the fact that February of this year included one less workday than February of the previous year, as well as a drop in industrial, commercial and mining activity.

The negative Imacec (Monthly Economic Indicator) had been widely forecasted by the market. Analysts nevertheless had projected a contraction in the national market of up to 2.8% for the month.

The Imacec also dropped 3.9% in May of 1999, during the middle of the Asian crisis.

During February, industrial production reported an accumulated 12-month drop of 11.5%, while mining registered a 12-month drop of 10.1% according to figures from the National Statistics Institute.