Peru’s economic growth continued to slow down, expanding a weaker-than-expected 1.84 percent in May, the government said.
The growth was lower than the 2.9 percent that was expected by analysts, according to daily Gestion. That would have represented a slight improvement from April when the economy expanded 2.0 percent.
The National Statistics Institute, INEI, said that growth in May was impacted by a 4.49 percent contraction in the mining and hydrocarbons sector, as well as a 9.3 percent decline in fishing and a 2.5 percent contraction in manufacturing.
Construction grew 4.75 percent, while the finance and retail sectors also expanded in May versus the year-earlier month.
The slowdown comes as Peru’s government is pushing forward reforms aimed at making it easier for companies to invest, raising concerns about undermining environmental rules.
The Central Bank has also sought to provide a boost to the economy. Last week, the Central Bank’s board of directors lowered its monetary policy rate to 3.75 percent from 4.0 percent.
Many economists are still upbeat about Peru’s economy, saying that there should be a recovery in the second half of 2014.
If the construction market continues on its pace and the overall economy goes down Peru will be in for something similar to what happened in the Unites Sates.