LIMA, May 28 (Reuters) - Peru's gross domestic product grew
by 1.8 percent in the first quarter from the same period of
last year, the slowest quarter of expansion since 2001 as
manufacturing output slipped, official data showed on
Thursday.
The government's INEI statistics agency said the GDP result lagged the three-month tally for production of 2.02 percent that it released earlier in May.
INEI calculates GDP and monthly production figures differently. The services sector grew just 4.5 percent in the calculation of first-quarter GDP, less than 5.24 percent in the agency's calculation of production in the first three months of this year.
INEI said that manufacturing plunged 5.1 percent in the first quarter, and was partially offset by domestic demand that grew 1.2 percent.
Peru's economy has slowed sharply since last year when it grew nearly 10 percent.
Critics have said a new methodology introduced in January for calculating GDP overstates growth by expanding the size of the services sector and has made President Alan Garcia's administration appear effective at combating the economic downturn.
Some economists say Peru's economy has been shrinking for the last six months, but that the contraction is not as apparent since INEI reports data on a year-on-year basis, not sequential months.
((Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Terry Wade; editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: PERU ECONOMY/GDP (terry.wade@reuters.com; +51-1-221-2130; Reuters Messaging: terry.wade.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The government's INEI statistics agency said the GDP result lagged the three-month tally for production of 2.02 percent that it released earlier in May.
INEI calculates GDP and monthly production figures differently. The services sector grew just 4.5 percent in the calculation of first-quarter GDP, less than 5.24 percent in the agency's calculation of production in the first three months of this year.
INEI said that manufacturing plunged 5.1 percent in the first quarter, and was partially offset by domestic demand that grew 1.2 percent.
Peru's economy has slowed sharply since last year when it grew nearly 10 percent.
Critics have said a new methodology introduced in January for calculating GDP overstates growth by expanding the size of the services sector and has made President Alan Garcia's administration appear effective at combating the economic downturn.
Some economists say Peru's economy has been shrinking for the last six months, but that the contraction is not as apparent since INEI reports data on a year-on-year basis, not sequential months.
((Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Terry Wade; editing by Gary Crosse)) Keywords: PERU ECONOMY/GDP (terry.wade@reuters.com; +51-1-221-2130; Reuters Messaging: terry.wade.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.