Chilean currency devalues to record low

Chile’s currency devalued to a record low of 930 pesos to the U.S. dollar on Thursday following a sharp monthly decline in value due to the pressure of global inflation and the economic slowdown.

The Chilean peso is the currency that has lost the most value worldwide this month as a result of the rise in the value of dollar, according to analysts.

The devaluation was also driven by a decline in the price of copper, which recorded its second consecutive drop in a day on the London Metal Exchange.

The price of red metal, Chile’s main export product, closed at 3.75 dollars per pound (8.26 dollars per kg), having lost nearly 23 percent in value compared to the maximum price registered this year.

The current price is far from the average projected by the Chilean Copper Commission for 2022, which was 4.40 dollars per pound (9.29 dollars per kg).

On June 24, Chile’s Finance Ministry decided to intervene in the foreign exchange market to counteract the sharp drop in the peso.

“During the next 60 days, we estimate that a total of up to 5 billion dollars of excess liquidity in foreign currency … will be auctioned, with a daily maximum of 200 million dollars,” the ministry said in a statement.