The economic dynamics during October returned to present a positive, but moderate growth, since the Indicator of Follow-up to the Economy (ISE) that delivers the Dane showed a growth of 4.6% in its annual variationthe second lowest figure so far this year in the index, only above that of September, which registered a figure of 4.4%.
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Regarding the monthly variation, on the other hand, October showed a contraction of -0.6%.
“The years 2020, 2021, and even this one are different, they are atypical years for everything that the pandemic brought”, highlighted the director of Dane, Piedad Urdinola.
And he added: “In the monthly variation we can have more important ‘seasonalized’ effects, we started the year with -1.2%, then we continued with 1.7% in February, and we reached these last months, September with a figure monthly of -0.03%, and October with -0.6%”.
(In addition: How were the overtime, night and holidays with a minimum of 2023).
By sectors, the tenth month of the year saw that most of its production was driven by the branch of artistic and entertainment activitieswhich grew 46.9% in annual terms and contributed 2.0 percentage points to the total variation of the ISE.
“YouAll the massive events and concerts that took place in the month were the ones that marked this growth the most, followed by online betting”, explained the director of the Dane.
They also highlightedThe manufacturing industries, with a contribution of 0.6 points to the variationafter growing 6.2%, and public administration, education and health, also with a contribution of 0.6 points, despite having fallen -2.7% compared to 2021.
Urdinola highlighted that the group of tertiary or service activities, which have a weight of almost 70% of the economic activity, registered an annual variation of 6%, one of the lowest in the last year, while the monthly variation was only 0.1%.
“What the ISE shows is that the slowdown in the economy is taking place, but gradually. This is good news, the Colombian economy has shown exaggerated resilience, and household consumption has been well above its long-term capacity.”, assured Sergio Olarte, chief economist at Scotiabank Colpatria.
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According to the expert, service activities have already begun to slow down and entertainment, and household consumption in general, are expected to slow down, considering current inflation and interest rates.
Among the twelve items considered by the ISE, the agricultural sector was the one with the most negative growth.or, with a variation of -3.5% in annual terms.
“This is not something isolated from this month, it has been happening throughout the year. The winter wave has had repercussions on various products, and this month coffee has been affected, as well as the higher costs of agro-inputs have caused the sector to contract”, explained the director of the Dane.
Sergio Olarte assured for his part that there has been “an imbalance between the different sectors of the economy.”
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