Weekly Report - 24 July 2014 (WR-14-29)

CHILE | Growth forecast cut. The government has cut its economic growth forecast for the second time this year, from 3.4% to 3.2%. The Chilean economy has been suffering from a slowdown since last year when it posted a growth rate of 4.1% after averaging growth of 5.8% in the previous two years. Appearing before congress, the government’s budget director, Sergio Granados, pointed to a number of factors: a fall in activity in the domestic copper mining industry; the recent earthquake that hit northern Chile; the devastating fire in the city of Valparaíso; and the depreciation of the peso. A fall in copper mining activity means that the production levels for the state copper firm, Codelco, one of the main sources of government revenue, have been significantly reduced.