has been supported by the momentum of the productive sector, which has not yet taken into account the impact of the Chancay Port's entry into operation,
"The growth in May occurred despite the drop in mining production due to the interruption of (operations at the) Shougang and Poderosa mines," he said during the presentation of the third coin in the Peruvian Pre-Columbian Pottery numismatic series, which pays tribute to the Vicus culture.
Regarding its forecasts for the coming months, he noted that both the Shougang and Poderosa mining companies have already resumed their production activities, which could be reflected in the economy's dynamism.
Shougang is located in San Juan de Marcona district, Nasca province, Ica region, on the Peruvian coast, 530 km southeast of Lima. Its main product is iron.
In May, the Chinese mining company informed its workers in Peru of the suspension of operations for a period of five months due to the breakdown of equipment used to load the exported ore onto ships.
Meanwhile, the Poderosa mining company is located in Pataz province, La Libertad region. It is situated at an altitude ranging from 1,250 to 3,000 meters above sea level. It is one of Peru's main gold producers.
Last May, production at this mine was affected by the measures announced to control illegal mining activities in Pataz.
Without Chancay
Velarde emphasized that the performance of Peru's economy through May has not yet shown the effects of the Chancay Port beginning operations.
"The progress of Peru's economy is mainly due to the inertia of domestic productive activity," he reiterated.
Thus, he underscored that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has already accumulated growth above 3% between January and May.
Dynamism
This result exceeded market analysts' forecasts.
For example, the BCR had projected growth of around 2.5% for May of this year, as did the Peruvian Institute of Economics (IPE).
Chinese economy
On the other hand, the BCR recommended exercising caution with the more optimistic forecasts regarding the performance of China's economy before incorporating them into Peru's economic projections.
"These more optimistic forecasts should be taken with caution because the tariffs imposed by the United States will affect China in some way. We need to see whether the stronger performance of this Asian economy can be sustained throughout the year," he concluded.