High inflation and low growth worry José de Gregorio

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SANTIAGO.- The councilor and recently appointed head of the Central Bank, José de Gregorio, announced his concern about high inflation that has been registered during November and admitted that this matter will be one of the main issues addressed at the next issuing bank meeting.

De Gregorio also said that the Central Bank would be keeping an eye on the low rate of economic activity in Chile, which registered a growth of only 4.4% during October.

"The latest figure obtained from the Monthly Economic Activity Indicator (Imacec) also shows that there are possible risks of low activity, which we will need to evaluate (…) in order to make a decision regarding monetary policy at the upcoming meeting", explained De Gregorio, who will take Vittorio Corbo's place tomorrow as president of the issuing bank.

The Central Bank Council will meet next Thursday, December 13th, to take a hard look at inflation, which has been climbing quickly as a result of the high price of foodstuffs, fuel and electricity rates.