LIMA, April 12 (NNN-ANDINA) — Economy and Finance Minister Alex Contreras affirmed that the Peruvian economy has recovered after a decline of 1.1% in January and is believed to have expanded in February and March this year.
“It is true that the economy dropped 1.1% in January, but it performed better in February and March,” the government official said in statements to Andina news agency.
“The economy is believed to have grown between 0.4% and 0.5% in February, while the GDP growth rate in March is expected to have increased more than 1%,” he added.
Contreras made these remarks at a press conference held at the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) in Lima’s Chorrillos district.
The minister explained that a key factor in supporting the economic recovery is the strong performance of public investment, which has seen positive growth rates despite the change of sub-national authorities throughout the year.”
Public investment has been breaking records, so much so that the highest growth in the beginning of a new administration was recorded in this first quarter,” the Cabinet member remarked.
“Public investment is growing for the first time (in years in which the change of government occurred), and this is allowing to sustain growth,” he added.
The government official stated that even though there was a reallocation of investment expenditure, this will not affect the dynamism of public investment in the second quarter, since more resources will be injected —to continue its execution— once the supplementary credit is approved.
“We expect the supplementary credit to finance the emergency, the recovery of the economy, and the whole range of planned measures as of the second quarter,” Contreras said. — NNN-ANDINA
