Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, in Chile during the twelve months of 2021 reached US$ 16,782 billion, the best amount since 2015, according to the Central bank which added it represented a 95% increase over 2020. Overall it was 62% higher than the average of the last five years, and 16% above the 2003/2021 average.
The Chilean central bank hiked its reference rate from 4% to 5,5% to contain inflation which last year reached 7,2%, the highest in fourteen years. The Monetary Policy council of the bank on Wednesday agreed unanimously to increase the reference rate by 150 base points, according to the official release.
Given the latest spike of inflation in Chile which jumped 1,2% in September, the central bank council surprised markets by increasing the basic monetary lending rate 125 points, that is from 1,5% to 2,75%, the highest since 2001. The five-member Council decision was unanimous.
The Consumer Prices Index, CPI, in Chile climbed 0,4% during August totaling 3,2% so far this year and 4,8% in the last twelve months, according to the country's stats office. It is the highest since January 2016, and the tendency is to continue increasing, as had been anticipated by the Central Bank. Likewise with the US dollar.
The Monetary Council of the Chilean central bank surprised markets on Monday by deciding to increase the basic interest rate 75 base points to 1,5%, the highest jump since August 2001. According to a bank release, the decision from the council was unanimous, and well beyond market expectations that had estimated an increase of 25 to 50 base points.
Chile's monthly report issued by the Central Bank Monday forecast inflation to close 2021 with a cumulative 3.2%, with no significant changes in sight for 2022 and 2023.
Chile’s peso tumbled on Wednesday, starting the year in a volatile fashion as many had forecast. The currency dropped 2.1% to 741.66 against the dollar, bringing its decline this year to 4%.
The continuing coronavirus pandemic poses the most significant risk to Chile’s financial system as institutions’ capacity to take mitigating action diminishes, the country’s Central Bank warned in a report on Wednesday.
Chile posted a trade surplus of US$ 904 million in August, the central bank said on Monday, with a drop in levels versus a year earlier of both exports and imports for the month.
Chile’s Congress has approved a law to allow the central bank to buy bonds issued by the country’s treasury in the secondary market, potentially giving the bank added firepower to help offset fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.