The Association of Southeast Asian Nations region needs

Peru’s economy grew 3.18% in September from the same month a year earlier as construction activity continued to drive a recovery in domestic demand, state statistics agency Inei said on Wednesday, Nasdaq reported. A Reuters poll had forecast a 3.1% expansion. The economy expanded by 2.38% in the first nine months of 2017 from a year earlier, Inei said. Peru’s economy, which grew 3.9% in 2016, was hit hard early this year by severe flooding and a graft scandal that stalled investments, leading the central bank to cut the benchmark interest rate four times. Construction activity grew 8.94%, while mining and hydrocarbon activity grew 7.13%. The unemployment rate in the Lima metropolitan area in the August-October period was 6.2%, Inei said. The expansion logged in September marked an uptick from August, when the economy expanded 2.28% year-on-year, but was under the 4.34% pace in September of last year.