Chile’s inflation rate rose to the highest this year in July as the Peso approaches its weakest level in more than a decade. Prices climbed 0.4% in the month, the National Statistics Institute said on its website Friday. Annual inflation accelerated to 4.6% from 4.4% the month before, while the central bank target is between 2% and 4%.
Chilean authorities and business people opened the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday as part of the Chile Day 2014 which is the country's foremost promotion event abroad for the financial and business sectors. UK Foreign Office Minister of State for Latin America Hugo Swire underlined that Chile in a key partner in the region.
Chile's central bank cut its forecast range for 2013 GDP growth but maintained inflation and domestic demand predictions as the effects of a slowdown hitting copper demand are moderated by consumer spending.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde described Chile as one the most stable and prosperous nations in South America which has enjoyed robust growth over the last decade, but also warned it remains exposed to shifts in commodity prices.
The Vice-president of the European central bank Vitor Constancio said the EU has much to learn from Latin America which has coped with successive economic and financial crises and has managed to create robust financial structures which have made the region’s system even more resistant to outside shocks.
The Chilean central bank raised its forecast for economic growth this year to between 4.75% and 5.25% (from 4% to 5%), adding that it expects GDP to expand 4% to 5% in 2013.
The Chilean consumer price index showed no variation in July in contrast to the surprise 0.3% drop in June, as increases in food and non-alcoholic drinks offset falls in clothing, footwear and utilities, according to the national statistics agency INE.
Chile’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5% for a fifth consecutive month as inflation in the world’s top copper producer eased and unemployment continued to decline.
Chile's consumer price index remained unchanged in May, the government statistics agency INE said on Friday, slowing its pace from April as lower food and transport prices offset higher electricity costs. Prices rose 0.1% in April, the INE said last month.
Chile’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 5% for a fourth consecutive month as surging domestic demand and deterioration in the global economy leave little scope to change monetary policy.