LIMA (July 15): Peru's central bank chief Julio Velarde warned on Wednesday that the El Niño weather phenomenon would likely weigh on economic activity in coming months as it had done in May, when the country posted its weakest growth of the year.

Peru's GDP expanded 1.8% in May from a year earlier, according to data from national statistics agency INEI, short of a forecast of 3.2% growth in a Reuters poll and slower than April's 3.73% expansion.

"Perhaps the figures we are going to see in the coming months will not be so good, because they stem from a natural phenomenon that we are already experiencing," Velarde said.

But he added that the broader economic backdrop remained favourable thanks to "exceptional" prices for the minerals the country exports.

A major factor in the slowdown was a 73.1% tumble in fishing output as warmer surface waters linked to El Niño pushed fish such as anchovies into deeper waters.

Manufacturing output suffered a 10.7% slide, as climate-related change also affected the textile industry's production cycle, INEI said.

Industry groups have warned that a strong El Niño could affect cotton production in the north, lower demand for winter clothing, and complicate logistics due to rains and flooding.

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