Peru

Peru's central bank expects inflation to converge to its target in 2024, not the end of this year as previously estimated, the bank's manager for economic studies Adrian Armas said on Friday, Reuters reported. The monetary authority's inflation target is between 1% and 3%. At a press conference, Armas attributed the revised forecast to inflationary pressures on food prices. Peru's annual inflation rate slowed to 7.89% in May.

Inflation in Peru could see a "greater deceleration" in June and July after higher-than-expected inflation last month, Peru's Economy Minister Alex Contreras said on Friday, Reuters reported. Official data published on Thursday showed consumer prices in the capital of Lima - seen as the national benchmark - rose 0.32% in May, slowing from 0.56% in April but above the 0.25% forecast in a Reuters poll.

Peru's inflation rate based on the metropolitan region of the capital Lima fell to 0.32% in May, government data showed on Thursday, but the rate of creeping consumer prices still came in above the 0.25% estimated by a Reuters poll. The slight uptick for inflation in May slowed from 0.56% in April, while inflation in the last 12 months reached 7.89%. Peru's central bank, as well as many economic analysts, use the metro Lima inflation rate as an accurate reference for prices nationwide.

The economy of Peru, the world's No.2 copper producer, may have contracted in the first quarter, though the most likely scenario is for no growth at all, the head of the Andean nation's central bank Julio Velarde said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The grim outlook comes after neighboring Chile upwardly revised its forecast for annual economic growth this year to 0.3%, reversing a previous estimate of a 0.7% contraction.

Peru, the world's No. 2 copper producer, is seen posting economic growth of 2.5% this year, President Dina Boluarte said Wednesday, down from a prior forecast as the Andean nation reels from social protests and heavy rains in the country's north, Reuters reported. That would be down from the a prior government forecast in August of 3.5%. "There has been a negative impact due to the social unrest that has forced us to review growth" forecasts, Economy Minister Alex Contreras said at a cabinet meeting with Boluarte.

Peru's government expressed qualified interest in tapping the international bond market later this year in a bid to better manage liabilities, Economy Minister Alex Contreras said on Friday, Reuters reported. The government might turn to capital markets during the first semester of this year if opportunities exist, the economy chief said during a news conference. The minister also forecast what he described as a "moderate" economic expansion in March, and then 4% growth in April.

Peru's government announced on Tuesday the launch of more than 30 public-private projects worth nearly $9 billion, hoping to revive the economy hit by violent anti-government protests, Reuters reported. The projects, involving road infrastructure, energy and sanitation, are set to begin between this year and 2024, according to the head of the state's agency for investment promotion Jose Salardi, speaking at an event with investors. "The key is to regain confidence," Salardi said, adding the government is simplifying processes, standardizing contracts and coordinating with the private sector.

Peru's economy slowed down for the second month in a row, missing forecasts for the last month of 2022, figures from the national statistics institute showed on Wednesday, as the country faces a wave of social unrest that began early December, Reuters reported. The Andean nation's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.86% year-on-year in the month, while economists expected a 1.25% expansion, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll. Protests have rocked the world's No. 2 copper producing country, since the December 7 removal and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo.

Peru's consumer prices rose less than expected in January despite growing political tensions, but the 12-month rate still ticked up as the Andean nation battles the highest inflation in a quarter of a century, Reuters reported. Government data showed on Wednesday that consumer prices in the Lima metropolitan region, seen as the national benchmark, were up 0.23% in the first month of the year, well below the median forecast of 0.43% in a Reuters poll of economists.

The Central Reserve Bank of Peru on Friday slightly reduced its economic growth projection for 2023 to 2.9% from 3.0%, according to a report published by the central bank, Reuters reported. Annual inflation in the copper-rich South American country is seen reaching 8.2% in 2022 before declining to 3% in 2023, the central bank said. It sees a 2022 fiscal deficit of 1.6% of gross domestic product, compared to a previous forecast of 1.9%, the report noted.