WRAPUP 2-Chile manufacturing, fish, copper output leap; jobless rate down

* Manufacturing in August soars 6.8 percent vs July
* June to August jobless rate eases to 6.4 percent
* Copper output in August jumps 11.7 percent vs July
* World No. 1 copper producer performing
better-than-expected
* Chile peso one of world's strongest performers vs dollar

By Antonio De la Jara and Moises Avila
SANTIAGO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Chile's manufacturing soared
in August on the back of strong domestic consumption, its
fishing industry gained on record demand from Brazil and the
United States for Chilean trout and salmon, and copper output
rose, the government said on Friday.
Chile's stronger-than-expected economic performance has
helped drive its peso currency up over 9 percent
against the U.S. dollar this year. Together with the Hungarian
forint, it ranks as the strongest performer against the dollar
among the 152 currencies tracked by Reuters.
After the release of the surprisingly robust production data
on Friday, the central bank warned that it was not ruling out
intervening in the foreign exchange market, as it did last year,
to stem the peso's rise.
Following the remarks, the peso retreated, closing 0.76
percent lower at about 474.60 to the dollar.
The central bank used a dollar-purchasing program last year
to damp down the peso after it appreciated to its highest in
more than 2-1/2 years at 465.50 per dollar.
Manufacturing output increased a seasonally
adjusted 6.8 percent in August from July and rose a
larger-than-forecast 3.6 percent from a year earlier on improved
domestic and external demand, according to the National
Statistics Institute (INE) report on Friday.
Chile's jobless rate for the June to August
period fell to 6.4 percent on jobs in public administration and
defense, teaching and mining, easing from May to July's 6.5
percent level and remaining at a near-historical low.

"The very strong August numbers confirm the sustained
buoyancy of the Chilean economy, which has surprisingly not
shown signs of moderation until now," Goldman Sachs analyst
Alberto Ramos said in a note to clients.
Copper is the backbone of the Chilean economy, so the
economy is highly export-dependent. But so far it has done
better than forecast in resisting the fallout of euro zone debt
woes and slowing demand from China, its leading copper customer.
INE said improved conditions for "external demand are
explained by the exports of products like salmon and trout,
mainly to Brazil and the United States."
While copper accounts for around 60 percent of Chile's
export revenue, the commodities-centered country also produces
salmon, fruits, wood pulp and wine. August's manufacturing rate
was buoyed by a jump in fish fillet output, the INE said.
World No. 2 salmon producer Chile is betting on booming
Brazilian appetite to boost its key fishing industry as it
bounces back from a virus that decimated stocks a few years ago.

Domestic demand was boosted by the use of metal-based
products, such as railings and fences, in real estate projects,
it added.

CENTRAL BANK SEEN HOLDING RATE STEADY
The central bank is seen holding its key interest rate
at 5.0 percent again at its monetary policy meeting
on Oct. 18, and it is also seen at that level in three and six
months, the bank's fortnightly poll of traders showed on
Wednesday.
A low unemployment rate, brisk domestic demand and strong
economic activity - weighed against a threatening global
backdrop - are seen pressuring the bank to keep the rate steady
and not reduce it to stimulate economic growth, as has been the
case recently in Latin American peers Colombia and Brazil.

A Reuters poll had seen manufacturing output grow 1.0
percent in August from a year ago on waning external demand and
a strong domestic currency that exporters say dulls their
competitive edge globally.
The unemployment rate was forecast to have remained
unchanged at 6.5 percent, according to the median response of 10
analysts and economists polled by Reuters.
Chile's economic activity likely expanded at
6.2 percent in August, its strongest pace in six months, on
brisk domestic demand, the country's lynchpin mining sector and
a rebound in manufacturing, a Reuters survey showed on Friday.

COPPER OUTPUT JUMPS
Chile copper output jumped in August, both compared with the
same month of last year and with July 2012.
Chile produced 462,643 tonnes of copper in August
, jumping 7.8 percent from the same month a year
earlier due to a low base of comparison and a higher current
productive capacity, the government also said on Friday.
Copper output in August of last year was hit by the tail-end
of a massive strike at world No. 1 copper deposit Escondida,
majority-owned by BHP Billiton.
Production of the metal rose 11.7 percent in August 2012
from a month earlier, boosted by higher rates of
mineral-processing and better ore grades, the INE added.
Red metal output sank 8.5 percent in July compared with June
on the maintenance of conveyer belts and grinding equipment.

Chile, which produces around a third of the world's copper,
is struggling to boost its key copper production despite
stubbornly dwindling ore grades in old mines, labor action,
energy woes and operational troubles.
The Andean country produced 3.52 million tonnes of copper in
the January to August period, a 4.0 percent increase from the
same period of 2011.
Chile is seen mining 5.404 million tonnes this year,
significantly down from a previous projection of 5.7 million
tonnes.
But analysts and industry players are increasingly
questioning whether Chile will be able to meet its ambitious
mining production and investment aims.
"Considering that no new operations are due to start before
year-end, maintaining August's rhythm would mean an annual
output of 5.34 million tonnes (+1.5 percent year-on-year), which
is difficult if one takes into account Collahuasi's problems and
generalized decreases in ore grades," said Pedro Fuenzalida, a
senior analyst with LarrainVial in Santiago.
Collahuasi, the world's No. 3 copper mine, expects its red
metal output to improve in the second half of the year versus
the first six months, but its full-year output will likely still
be below last year's, as lower ore grades and accidents hit
operations.
Chile posted its largest trade deficit in August since the
height of the global financial crisis nearly four years ago, as
exports of the metal slipped below the $3.0 billion mark for the
first time since June 2010.