. In this sense, he said that for now there is no bias, neither upward nor downward, on that forecast.
"During the first half, we registered a high growth rate, with consumption growing above 5% and non-primary manufacturing growing more than 6%. We expect it to slow down in the second half," Velarde explained.
"Our latest projection, according to the Inflation Report, stands at 3% (growth rate of Peru's economy for this year). What I am saying is that there is really no bias either upwards or downwards;
we stand at 3%," he added.
Non-primary GDP
During the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE-Executives 2022) in Paracas, Velarde explained that this projection is almost in line with the current potential growth of Peruvian GDP.
"Why did we lower our projection initially? Well, because mining was hit, the stoppages at mines in that magnitude were not in our projections. During the first half, non-primary GDP (manufacturing, commerce, and construction) grew more than we were expecting, but what grew less (than expected) was the primary one," he added.
Public works
Moreover, the BCR governor pointed out that the construction sector will grow considerably in the second half because the number of public works is increasing.
"Public investment decreased 5% in the first half; we were expecting it to grow 7.1% in 2022; thus, we lowered the projection to 2.1%. Now we expect it to grow more (than that) due to the data observed until October," he indicated.