FxWirePro: Daily Commodity Tracker - 21st March, 2022 
Chile Q1 gross domestic product grew slightly above expectations , strongly boosted by rising exports, Banco Central de Chile said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Chile's gross domestic product grew by 1.3 pct in the first quarter compared to the last quarter of 2015. The quarter-on-quarter figure was just ahead of a forecast of 1.2 pct from a Reuters poll of economists, and significantly higher than last quarter's 0.1 pct reading.
The top copper exporter grew 2 pct in Q1 on an annualized basis, compared to market expectations of 1.8 pct. The growth figures have been given support by net rise in exports, and, to a lesser extent, household spending, the Central Bank said.
"There was a general rise in activity, except for fishing, mining and restaurants and hotels," the bank mentioned.
The country's key mining sector contracted 1.9 pct in the quarter compared with a year ago, but increased from the last quarter, it said. Subdued demand in key importer China has led to a rout in the copper market and crimped investment in Chile at a time when ore grades were already falling, although the ramp-up of new mines is keeping output steady.
