SANTIAGO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Chile’s economic activity rose 18.1% year-on-year in July, supported by a low base of comparison and a recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, its central bank said on Wednesday. The Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (Imacec), which represents about 90% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the South American country, also increased 1.4% compared to June. “This result was mainly explained by the lower basis for comparison with July of the previous year, the gradual opening of the economy and the greater adaptation of households and companies to the COVID-19 health emergency,” the central bank said in a statement. “All the components of Imacec grew with respect to same period of the previous year, highlighting the contribution of service activities.” Chile’s central bank said on Tuesday it would raise its benchmark interest rate to 1.5% from 0.75% after consumer prices rose 0.8% in July and rolling 12-month inflation hit 4.5%. Coronavirus cases meanwhile continued to fall in July in Chile, where 71% of the population has been vaccinated here, according to a Reuters tally, marking one of the world"s fastest vaccination campaigns. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero, writing by Aislinn Laing, editing by Alexander Smith) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.