When measured in dollars, it is estimated that the investment was US$5,311 million in the month. The machinery and equipment sector registered a decrease of 5.5% in the annual measurement, accumulating a decrease of 7.2% for the first three months of the year.
In detail, the Imported equipment registered an increase of 5.8%, while those of national origin fell 19.8%.
Meanwhile, during construction there was an acceleration in the fall speedrecording a level 36.1% lower than the same month last year.
“Such a contraction was only recorded by this indicator in the period 2001-2002, and during the quarantine months of 2020. In accumulated terms, the decline in the sector is 24.0% for the first quarter,” OJF stated.
Worst indicators of economic activity
In conclusion, the work pointed out that “During March the activity indicators worsened, and the estimate of gross investment was no exception.”
“The contractionary trend accelerated, particularly due to the situation in the construction sector, where the outlook is discouraging“he added.
The work stated that “going forward, considering the recessionary context and the sharp drop in domestic demand, we do not anticipate a change in the contractionary investment trend”.
However, he pointed out that “if the government manages to control inflation and salaries begin to grow in real termswe could begin to see a change of sign, particularly if progress is made in reforms that promote reactivation.”
Source: Ambito
