Central Bank of Chile: "Will Raise Benchmark Interest Rate from 0.75% to 1.5% if Necessary"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Central Bank of Chile announced on the 31st (local time) that it will raise the base interest rate from the existing 0.75% to 1.5%.

According to major foreign media on the day, the board of the Central Bank of Chile stated, "In order to avoid macroeconomic imbalances that could cause a continuous increase in inflation, it was unanimously decided to double the interest rate as necessary."

The Central Bank of Chile added that externally, it will follow the measures of several other central banks in emerging countries regarding the rise in inflation along with the ongoing global economic recovery.

Mario Marcel, Governor of the Central Bank of Chile, warned, "As Chileans are more likely to make new withdrawals from their personal pension savings, financial market volatility continues, which could fuel inflation and overheat the economy."

In July, Chile's consumer prices rose by 0.8%, and the inflation rate over the past 12 months reached 4.5%, the highest level since March 2016.

The Chilean National Institute of Statistics (INE) explained that while prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages surged sharply, transportation costs, especially gasoline prices, led the price increases.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.