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.
Argentina's Central Bank Friday announced the yearly inflation for 2021 was expected to reach 46%, while figures for the past month of March were around 3.9%. The official peso/US dollar exchange rate was foreseen at $ 115/ US$ 1 by the end of this year.
While inflation grows rampant and people lose some or all of their income in the middle of the coronavirus restrictions, Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) Thursday released a new economic report which showed positive figures.
Brazil's central bank on Wednesday announced a first interest rate hike since 2015, a surprising 75 basis point increase to 2.75% and anticipated a similar increase in May to fight inflation even as the economy struggles during the pandemic.
Rising inflation plus bad loans and government regulations anticipate a tough 2021 according to the CEO of Argentina's biggest private bank by market capitalization. “If inflation is high, there is a risk that bank results will fall to very low or negative levels in real terms,” Fabian Kon said in an interview in Buenos Aires.
Brazil's statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday the monthly rate of producer price inflation kicked off this year at its second highest, with prices rising across all 24 activities surveyed.
With inflation far from target and increasing consumer prices, Argentina is investigating firms including Danone, Procter & Gamble, Fargo, miller Cañuelas, abattoir Paledini and Unilever, along with food producers like Bunge, accusing them of deliberately holding back production.
Argentina's Consumer Price Index, CPI rose in January for the second month running 4%, questioning the government's target of 30% inflation in 2021. In effect twelve-month inflation reached 38,5% in January, following on the 4% for December, according to the latest release from the country's stats office, Indec.
Brazil's lower house of Congress on Wednesday approved the text of a bill granting the central bank autonomy, which will set fixed four-year terms for the bank's president and directors, and tighter rules on their exit from office.
Brazil's central bank weekly FOCUS survey of some 100 economists and financial institutions indicated that the outlook for inflation in the country rose for the fifth consecutive week, and is getting closer to the bank's target for the year.