(Adds analyst comments)
SANTIAGO, April 3 (Reuters) - Chile's IMACEC economic
activity index dropped 0.5% in February compared to the same
month last year, data showed on Monday, well below the
expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who had forecast a
0.1% increase.
Compared with the previous month, the IMACEC index - a close
proxy of gross domestic product - fell 0.3%, central bank data
showed, with mining and service activities the main drags in the
world's largest copper producer.
"These figures confirm that the economy is still in
adjustment and that economic contraction still lies ahead," said
Artur Claro, an economist at Econsult, who forecast some
recovery to come only in the second half.
Andres Abadia, chief economist for Latin America at Pantheon
Macroeconomics, said the mining sector has been hit by an array
of shocks, including bad weather, which affected recent economic
activity.
Nonetheless, economic momentum is likely to gradually gather
speed this year, he said, thanks to gradually easing inflation
pressures, lower interest rates and improving conditions for
Chile's key exports.
(Reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero and Natalia Ramos; Writing
by Gabriel Araujo and Steven Grattan)
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