MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's GDP figures revised down again

Expectations for Chile's GDP growth in 2006 fell again for the fifth consecutive month this year, with the new projection set at 4.4% by the Central Bank (BC).

The new rate of growth is 0.1% lower than stated in November and a full 1.3% below April's statistic, concluded 36 experts interviewed by the Central Bank.

While this year's figures have changed, the central bank maintained for the third straight month that GDP in 2007 will grow by 5.3% and speculated inflation will have an annual average rate of three percent.

But even with the dip in this year's GDP growth rate, the central bank has reported that exports rose an impressive 43.9% in October compared to October 2005. Imports were also up, by 13.5% the BC revealed.

The National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that Inflation dropped slightly in November, down 0.2%. Since the year began, however, costs in Chile have risen at a gradual average rate of 2.4%. The Santiago Times -