MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile's interannual inflation on downward path

“We began to have inflation figures below what was expected,” Marcel explained

Chile's inflation in October reached 0.5 % over the previous month, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported this week. The new figure means an accumulated 11.4 % in the first ten months of 2022 and 12.8 % interannually.

The INE also highlighted that with these results, the yoy data fell from 13.7% the previous month. It was the second consecutive improvement since August's 14.1 %, although the figure continues to be in double digits, where it stands since April of this year when it reached 10.5% yoy. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), inflation in Chile will stand at 11.6% at the end of the year and will have to wait until 2023 for it to fall below double digits.

In the tenth month of the year, eight of the twelve divisions that make up the CPI basket had a positive impact on the monthly variation, while three of them had a negative impact and one remained neutral. Food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport went up both 0.8 %, it was reported, while home equipment and maintenance fell by 1.5%.

”In October 2022, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded a monthly variation of 0.5 percent, accumulating 11.4 percent so far this year and a 12-month rise of 12.8 percent,“ the INE report said.

Finance Minister Mario Marcel told reporters that Chile entered a period in which ”we began to have inflation figures below what was expected. Inflation already reached its 'peak' (peak) in August.“

”The macroeconomic policy, the policy followed by the Central Bank, supported by the fiscal policy, is beginning to have an effect, and what we are going to see from now on, especially during the next year, will be systematic drops in inflation”, he added.