The mining and hydrocarbon sector expanded 5.24% last March, mainly underpinned by the dynamism of metallic-mining and hydrocarbons, National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) reported Tuesday.
This is the first expansion since December 2017 (+5.55%), as the
mining and hydrocarbon sector experienced declines in January (-1.52%) and February (-2.43%) of the current year.
Within this sector, metallic-mining subsector accounts for 84.6%, whereas hydrocarbons make up 15.4%.
Metallic mining
In the analyzed month, the metallic-mining subsector grew 5.45%, the highest growth rate so far this year.
This result was driven by higher production of molybdenum (+38.6%), iron (+8%), zinc (+7.2%),
copper (+6%), and tin (+4.5%).
The
favorable prices of mining products worldwide, among other reasons, contributed to said expansion.
Hydrocarbons
On the other hand, the hydrocarbon subsector rose 4.1% in the third month of the current year.
According to INEI, this increase was mostly explained by higher crude oil output (+21.5%).
It is worth mentioning this subsector grew slightly (+1.14%) in January but slid (-24.61%) last February.
(END) CNA/JJN/JAA/MVB