Chile’s construction industry has prevented a slide in investment turning into a slump in the past few years amid a boom in home building. Next year will be a different story.
A drop in copper prices has pushed down investment in machinery and equipment since the end of 2012, leading to the weakest economic growth over a three-year period since the debt crisis of 1981. Now investment in construction may be about to join the downturn as one-time factors boosting home sales fade, according to Rodrigo Aravena, chief economist at Banco de Chile.
