(Kitco News) - According to Chile’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), the country’s industrial production index (IPI) expanded 0.5% in January 2023 y-o-y due to increases in mining and electricity, gas and water sectors while manufacturing sector fell.
INE said that the 2.9% increase in Chile's mining sector (IPMin index) in January 2023 y-o-y was primarily due to the higher activity registered in the country’s metallic mining subsector (up 2.7% y-o-y) as a result of increased mining and processing of copper.
According to the report, Chile, the world’s largest producer of copper, mined 435,939 tonnes of copper in January 2023, which is an increase of 1.4% compared to 429,923 tonnes mined in January 2022.
Meanwhile, Chile's manufacturing production index (IPMan) decreased by 1.6% in January 2023 compared to the same month of the previous year, primarily due to the decline in manufacturing of chemical substances and products.
The agency added that the country’s electricity, gas and water production index (IPEGA) increased by 0.5% in January 2023 compared to January 2022 primarily due to the growth in electricity generation.
