Peru’s economy grew 3.23% in August from a year earlier, the national statistics institute INEI said Thursday, October 15. Construction and commerce expanded, while mining and hydrocarbons contracted 5.53%. Growth fell short of July’s 3.56%. Output rose 3.14% from January to August and 3.31% over the 12 months to August; seasonally adjusted output gained 0.22% from July.
The August result compared with growth of 2.80% a year earlier on INEI’s current revised series. The figures were preliminary, drawing on information available Wednesday, October 14. INEI compiles Peru’s monthly output index, which officials and media report as monthly GDP growth.
Construction and commerce expand
Construction grew 10.34%, backed by a 7.63% rise in cement consumption and a 19.33% increase in public works. Commerce rose 6.89%. Car sales climbed 25.73%, supported by financing and vehicle fairs, while new light-vehicle sales jumped 44.7% to 23,412 units.
Commercial banks’ consumer loans reached S/ 89.5 billion, about US$26.0 billion, up 15.9%. Imports of consumer goods rose 23.1% to US$1.46 billion. Financial and insurance activity grew 3.19%; deposits increased 7.91% and credits 3.98%. Business services advanced 3.91%, government services 3.06%, and electricity, gas and water activity 6.61%.
Manufacturing grew 4.18%, helped by primary precious-metal products, which rose 89.91% from a low base. Total exports increased 17.75% on larger shipments: traditional products rose 20.89%, and non-traditional products gained 10.32%. Central bank trade data put August exports at US$10.8 billion and imports at US$6.1 billion.
Mining and fishing contract
Metal mining fell 6.14%, while hydrocarbons declined 1.35%, pulling the combined sector down 5.53%. Seasonally adjusted, mining and hydrocarbons contracted 3.62% from July. Copper output fell 5.3% to about 207,100 tonnes as ore grades declined at Antapaccay, a copper mine in southern Peru.
Chinalco, the miner behind Toromocho, carried out minor planned maintenance there. Cerro Verde and Marcobre also produced less. Zinc output fell 28.1% as Antamina, a large Andean copper and zinc mine, processed more copper-only ore. INEI said the change followed the mine’s plan. Silver output declined 10.4% and gold 0.9%, while molybdenum rose 12.5% and iron 9.2%; those two metals added 1.10 percentage points to the mining sector’s result.
Average copper prices rose 48.9% from a year earlier to record highs, even as Peruvian copper volumes fell 5.3%. INEI named Southern Peru Copper, the Peruvian arm of New York-listed Southern Copper (SCCO), among the miners producing less.
Crude oil output dropped 10.85% as operator PetroTal worked on up to five wells at Lot 95. Fishing fell 17.33%, and anchovy landings for fishmeal declined 58.1% to 2,602 tonnes. INEI said the state El Niño commission ENFEN had noted that giant squid fishing was suspended from July 18. Fresh fish landings rose 11.54%, easing the sector’s decline. INEI didn’t provide an El Niño estimate for the fishing decline.
Forecasts and next release
The central bank, BCRP, cut its 2026 growth forecast to 3.2% from 3.4% in September, citing El Niño. A central bank survey showed analysts also expected 3.2% growth in 2026. The International Monetary Fund’s October outlook projected 3%, up from 2.8% in April.
INEI’s release calendar scheduled the September output figure for Sunday, November 15. The report said it remained uncertain whether mining would recover from August’s decline. INEI is led by Gaspar Morán Flores.
- peru
- gdp growth
- inei
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- copper production
- fishing