(Reuters) -Consumer prices in Chile rose 0.9% in July from the previous month, data from statistics agency INE showed on Friday, above the 0.6% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
Annual inflation in the world’s largest copper producer hit 4.3%, INE added, accelerating from the 4.1% registered in the previous month. The Chilean central bank has an inflation target range of 2% to 4%.
The monthly rise was driven by higher costs of housing, amid higher electricity prices, and food and non-alcoholic beverages, the agency said. The only group of the 13 surveyed that posted a monthly price decrease was insurance and financial services, it added.
The higher-than-expected figure for July followed a 0.4% drop in consumer prices in June.
Chile’s central bank last week cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, but said future moves would depend on the evolution of the macroeconomic scenario and its implications for inflation’s convergence to its target.
(Reporting by Benjamín Mejías Valencia and Natalia Ramos; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
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