* Peru’s national statistics institute (Inei) has announced that the economy contracted by 0.43% in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period last year. The figures underline the impact on Peru’s economy of weeks of nationwide anti-government protests and severe flooding in the north of the country. However, Inei noted signs of improvement in March when the economy grew by 0.22% year-on-year. This March growth was driven by increased production in sectors including mining and hydrocarbons (+9.28%), fishing (+22.09%), electricity, water and gas (+6.47%), and commerce (+2.95%). Conversely, Inei registered contractions in March in the construction sector (-12.42%), agriculture (-2.56%), communications (-9.68%), finance and insurance (-6.09%), and manufacturing (-0.27%).
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