Inflation in Argentina posted 16.5% y-o-y in March, lower than February’s 18% and marking the fourth consecutive fall in the national urban CPI. The significant decrease in imports, which fell 19% y-o-y in 2014, notably supported GDP growth in 2014. The economy grew nearly 0.5% over 2013.
In Chile, the central bank left its monetary policy interest rate unchanged at 3% last month on improvements in international financial conditions over the previous month. The central bank cited in its decision that the unemployment rate dropped slightly but job creation was low. In addition, the headline inflation was lower than forecast, which was not the case for core inflation.