Colombia Manufacturing Rebound Strengthens; Up 9.4% Year-on-Year
Colombia’s monthly manufacturing index (“EMM” in Spanish initials) rose 9.4% year-on-year in August 2016 — the latest month for which statistics are available — according to an October 19 report from the national statistics department (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística-DANE).
The recent restart of Ecopetrol’s newly rebuilt “Reficar” refinery at Cartagena played a large part in the manufacturing rebound, according to the agency. That refinery is now producing about 120,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), still short of the 170,000 bbl/d maximum capacity that Ecopetrol expects to achieve by mid-2017.
Industrial sales also rose 10% year-on-year in August 2016, according to DANE. For the period January through August 2016, industrial production is up 4.4% year-on-year, the agency added.
In total, 28 of the 39 industrial sectors in Colombia saw production boosts year-on-year in August, led by refinery output (up 27.9%) and beverage production (up 13.8 %).
For the January to August 2016 period, industrial sales rose 5.4% year-on-year, while industrial employment rose 0.9% year-on-year, according to DANE.
