Aug 15 (Reuters) - Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.56% in June from the same month last year, the government's INEI statistics agency said on Tuesday, landing below expectations as the mining-rich nation grappled with the fallout from protests and adverse weather.
The central bank's top economist had said last week the economy had likely shrunk by about 0.50% over the second quarter of 2023. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the same contraction for the month of June.
This follows a 0.43% contraction in the first three months of the year, as the world's No. 2 copper producer grappled with nationwide protests following the ouster and arrest of Peru's former president last year, as well as impacts from the El Nino weather phenomenon.
The periodic El Nino phenomenon, which scientists say is compounded by climate change, lasts between months and years, warming the Pacific Ocean and fuelling tropical cyclones, floods and rainfall across the Americas and elsewhere.
According to INEI, output from the country's fishing sector plunged 69% in June from a year earlier, while its manufacturing sector slid 15%, hit by El Nino. Peru's mining and hydrocarbon industry, however, grew 16%.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Alex Contreras told reporters he expects economic growth to return in July and denied that Peru had tipped into a recession. (Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Valentine Hilaire and Anthony Esposito)
