Chile's Economy Falls A Fourth Month As Mining Slumps

2026-06-01 12:31:12

(MENAFN- The Rio Times) CHILE · ECONOMY

Key Facts

- The headline: Chile's monthly economic activity index, the Imacec, fell 1.2% year-on-year in April 2026, its worst reading since March 2023, the central bank said.

- The streak: It was the fourth consecutive month of annual contraction, a run of weakness that has surprised analysts.

- The miss: The market had expected a milder fall of around 0.5%; the actual decline was far worse.

- The driver: Mining plunged 11.8%, on lower copper output, dragging goods production down 5.4%; the non-mining index actually rose 0.4%.

- The context: The data follow news that unemployment hit 9.1%, its highest in nearly five years.

Chile's economy contracted for a fourth consecutive month in April, with a 1.2% annual fall in the central bank's activity index that was far worse than analysts expected. A sharp drop in mining drove the decline, even as the rest of the economy edged higher, deepening concern about the country's growth path in 2026.

What the data show

The central bank reported that the Monthly Economic Activity Index, known as the Imacec, fell 1.2% in April compared with the same month a year earlier, the weakest performance since March 2023. The seasonally adjusted series rose 0.1% from March but fell 0.9% over twelve months. April had the same number of working days as April 2025, so the calendar did not distort the annual comparison.

The result was the fourth month in a row in which the Chilean economy failed to register positive annual figures. It also overshot the market's gloomiest forecasts: economists had projected a contraction of around 0.5%.

Mining drags the economy down

The annual contraction was explained by a steep fall in mining, which dropped 11.8% in its original series, driven mainly by lower copper production. That pulled overall goods production down 5.4% year-on-year, with manufacturing slipping 0.4% and other goods, partly weighed down by fishing, falling 2.3%.

The mining weakness echoes the recent results of the state copper producer Codelco, whose own first-quarter output fell 8.1%. The concentration of the slump in the extractive sector is a key feature of the data.

The rest of the economy holds up

Stripping out mining, the picture was less bleak. The non-mining Imacec grew 0.4% over twelve months and was flat against March in seasonally adjusted terms. Services rose, led by health, while commerce was among the more dynamic components, helped by vehicle sales and e-commerce.

That divergence suggests the weakness is highly concentrated in the extractive sector rather than reflecting a broad-based collapse in activity, a distinction that matters for how policymakers read the slowdown.

A weakening backdrop

The activity data add to a run of soft indicators. Days earlier, the statistics institute reported that unemployment had climbed to 9.1% in the February–April quarter, the highest in almost five years and the 40th consecutive month above 8%.

Together, the figures reopen the debate over Chile's growth prospects for 2026 and the challenge of diversifying an economy still heavily exposed to the swings of a single export sector. This article reports official data and is general information, not investment advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Imacec?

Chile's Monthly Economic Activity Index, published by the central bank, a proxy for monthly GDP that captures most of the economy's output.

How much did it fall?

By 1.2% year-on-year in April, the worst reading since March 2023 and the fourth straight month of annual contraction.

Why did it fall so much?

A 11.8% plunge in mining, on lower copper output, dragged goods production down; the non-mining economy actually grew 0.4%.

Was it expected?

No. Analysts had forecast a milder contraction of around 0.5%; the result was considerably worse.

Connected Coverage

See also our coverage of Chile's unemployment rate climbing to 9.1% and Codelco's first-quarter results.