The Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE) showed an inter-annual variation of 4.2% in June, according to data published by the Central Bank on its website.
According to the cycle trend, of the 15 activities that make up the indicator, nine accelerated, including two that reversed the fall reflected last year and six that showed a slowdown.
According to the contribution to the growth, services account for 72% of the behavior (professional, scientific, technical, administrative and support services, education, human health and social assistance, trade and repair of vehicles, transport and storage, and financial and insurance activities), followed by manufacturing, agriculture and construction.
Pedro Morales, economic advisor of the Chamber of Industries, explained that during the first half of 2017 the Manufacturing Industry showed a fairly stable growth (year-on-year rate of around 3.5%), with a very slight tendency towards increase.
However, the average rate to June 2017 is 0.6 percentage points lower than the one from June 2016, confirming the results announced by the Chamber in April.
Manufacturing activities in the Definitive Regime have had a very weak behavior during the first months of 2017, with year-on-year rates that, although slightly accelerated, were below 1% in May.
In this case, the group of activities with the highest annual growth rates is the production of chemical substances and plastics.