Chile. According to information from the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC), the Monthly Construction Activity Index (IMACON) registered an annual decline of 1.2 percent last January, thus completing eight consecutive months with negative figures. In addition to the above, in the last year the historical average rate showed a decrease of 4.6 percent per year.
"All this is consistent with the pessimistic attitude that construction entrepreneurs still maintain regarding the impact of tax and labor reforms, the economic performance of Chile's main trading partners and other factors such as expectations of lower demand for new homes, at least in the short term, in line with the incessant difficulty of access to mortgage credit and the lower demand for financing by the homes," said Javier Hurtado, manager of Studies at the CChC.
As explained by the entity, these results are a reflection of the general weakening experienced by the sector since mid-2014, which has caused a continuous decrease in the amount of new construction as well as in the demand for materials and job creation.
