Mario Marcel: Chile - the view from the Central Bank

Presentation by Mr Mario Marcel, Governor of the Central Bank of Chile, at the "Southern Cone & Andean Opportunities Conference", arranged by JP Morgan, Santiago de Chile, 26 April 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Current macroeconomic conditions and prospects in the monetary policy scenario

1. The last few months have brought mixed signals for the Chilean economy. On the one hand, 2016 ended in a low tone, with a slowdown in activity and inflation. A series of one-off events extended economic weakness into the first quarter of 2017, lowering forecasts for the year as a whole. On the other, the global outlook appears more favorable, both for the growth of trade partners and terms of trade. This suggests a gradual improvement of economic prospects for the Chilean economy which should be further supported by an expansionary monetary policy as long as inflation remains below target.