Industrial production drops 11.1% in April

SANTIAGO.- The National Statistics Institute (INE) announced today that industrial production fell during April, registering a drop of 11.1%.

The decrease can primarily be explained by a decline in the production of companies linked to the food, non-metallic mining and forestry industries.

In April of 2008, industrial production reported an increase of 4.4% from the previous year, while in March of this year it reported a decrease of 7.1%.

Market forecasts had predicted that the figure would only drop by 8.7% during the fourth month of 2009.

Following a negative GDP of 2.1%, the indices for April of 2009 have evolved unevenly.

Industrial production and exports continue to drop, while trade sales are also displaying the same tendency. Meanwhile, the mining and energy sectors show signs of recovery.

"The uneven figures have not allowed us to determine whether this is the beginning of an improvement or aggravation regarding the current crisis", stated the INE.