Chile Retail Sales Rise by Least Since 2009 as Industry Shrinks

Chilean retail sales rose by the least since 2009 in April, while manufacturing output fell at the second-fastest pace in four years, indicating that sluggish economic growth continued into the second quarter.

Retail sales gained 1.6 percent from the year earlier and manufacturing slid 4.2 percent, the ninth contraction in the past year, the National Statistics Institute said on its website today. The median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for manufacturing to decline of 2.9 percent. Still, the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 6.1 percent in the three months through April from 6.4 percent the year earlier. Analysts had expected unemployment to rise to 6.7 percent.