*Chile’s national statistics institute (INE) has released new figures which show that in January 2024, the consumer price index (IPC) stood at a monthly rate of 0.7% and an annual rate of 3.8%. This is up from monthly deflation of 0.5% in December 2023. Annual inflation is down slightly from the 3.9% registered the previous month but surpassing market expectations. According to INE, 11 of the 13 categories making up the IPC registered price increases in monthly terms, with the INE highlighting increases in the food & non-alcoholic drinks (+1.0%) and housing & basic services (+1.2%) categories. The categories to register price decreases were transport (-1.6%) and clothing & shoes (-0.8%). This comes after Chile’s central bank (BCCh) lowered its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points on 31 January, to 7.25%.
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