Chile: Inflation steady in March
Consumer prices jumped a seasonally-adjusted 0.37% in March over the previous month, following the softer 0.19% increase seen in February. Looking at the details of the release, prices for education, clothing and footwear and for transport grew the most.
Inflation came in at February’s 2.9% in March. Meanwhile, annual average inflation was also unchanged at the previous month’s 2.9% in March. Lastly, core inflation rose to 2.6% from 2.4% in February.
Commenting on the release, Felipe Camargo, senior economist at Oxford Economics, stated:
“A worrying increase in core inflation’s contribution to headline prices hints that inflationary pressures are building up. We’ve revised our year-end forecast to 3% y/y, from 2.8% previously. Our forecast implies a gradual balancing of the opposing forces from energy and FX on prices and wide spare capacity contributions, which should gradually converge closer to the BCCh’s target range (3%, +/- 1%) over a 12-month horizon.”