Colombia: Industry and commerce maintain dynamism in January, but business confidence drops – AméricaEconomía

The Department of National Statistics (DANE) revealed on Tuesday that Colombia’s industry and retail trade accelerated their growth rate during January, amid strong domestic consumption in the Andean country, despite a drop in business confidence.

Industrial production rose 15.1% in January, compared to a 1.6% contraction in the same month last year.

It surpassed the recovery that occurred in December, when it registered 13.1%.

The increase in industrial production was explained by the production of beverages and the manufacture of pharmaceutical and chemical products, as well as paper production, DANE specified in a statement.

In contrast, there was a decrease in the coffee threshing and in the coking and oil refining activities.

Meanwhile, retail sales in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy rose 20.9% in January, compared to a 6.4% decline in the same month in 2021.

The percentage discrepancy was larger than that of December, when it was 15.9% higher.

The increase in trade was mainly due to higher sales in the automotive, auto parts and accessories, fuel and apparel sectors.

The government expects the Colombian economy to expand by 5% this year, compared to the historic recovery of 10.6% it reached in 2021.

Despite the numbers, DANE revealed that the business confidence index recorded its biggest drop in February since keeping records, even below the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and a series of protests and rallies that have occurred over the past year.

Low business confidence has been associated with difficulties in providing inputs due to increased costs resulting from availability issues due to the international logistics component, as identified by DANE.