Peruvian economy contracts 18 per cent in June year to year

LIMA, Aug 18, 2020, Merco Press. Peru’s economy contracted 18.06% in June versus the same period a year earlier, the government of president Martin Vizcarra said on Sunday, the fourth straight month of contraction due to the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Merco Press reported.

Peru, the world’s no. 2 copper producer, imposed a strict lockdown in March, though has recently looked to reopen key sectors of the economy.

The June drop is less severe than the 18.15% contraction analysts had estimated, and a step up from the 32.75% GDP decline in May.

In the first half of the year, the economy contracted 17.37% compared with the same period last year, Peru’s official INEI statistics body said, while it dropped 7.25% in the 12 months to June.