Chile Central Bank Lifts Economic Growth and Inflation Forecasts
(Bloomberg) -- Chile’s central bank raised its 2025 economic growth and year-end inflation forecasts days after policymakers signaled they’re in no rush to resume interest-rate reductions.
Annual inflation will end 2025 at 3.8%, according to the bank’s quarterly monetary policy report published on Monday. The prior estimate was 3.6%. Board members still see consumer-price growth slowing to the 3% target in early 2026, assuming the real exchange rate remains near current levels.
Policymakers see the nation’s gross domestic product expanding 1.75% to 2.75% this year, above the prior forecast of 1.5% to 2.5%. They lifted forecasts for categories including domestic demand, private consumption and exports.
Chile’s central bank kept borrowing costs unchanged at 5% on Friday as global economic uncertainty flares. Annual inflation will run above the 3% target in coming months following a series of electricity tariff hikes. Data from late 2024 and early 2025 also shows stronger-than-expected domestic economic activity, with both private consumption and investment recovering gradually.
Gross domestic product rose 2.6% last year, the central bank reported last Tuesday, above its estimate of 2.3% from December. Figures for early 2025 have shown strength in sectors such as commerce.