on Wednesday forecast that the inflation rate might return to target range levels (between 1% and 3%) in the last month of 2023.
According to
BCR Governor Julio Velarde,
inflation of 2.8% was registered between January and November 2023. Thus, it could close 2023 at 3% or 3.1%.
"We hope that it (inflation) will return to the target range, if not in December, then in the first quarter or in April of next year," Velarde said after the presentation of a new One Sol coin at the BCR headquarters in Lima.
"The path is clear. Inflation is controlled, and if there were an El Niño phenomenon, it would probably take us longer to reach the goal, but we would get there anyway," Velarde indicated.
"The important thing is that we have raised the interest rate much less than the rest of the region, and we are managing to return inflation to lower levels than other countries in the region," he added.
Despite this, the
BCR governor acknowledged that it has not been a good year for Peruvian economy. He was optimistic that there could be a recovery in 2024.
"It has not been a good year; there have been factors against it; we hope that next year will be better. The experts are lowering the probabilities of a very strong El Niño," Velarde said.
"The Multisectoral Commission in Charge of the National Study of El Niño Phenomenon (Enfen) publishes a new statement on Friday; there we will have a clearer vision of this phenomenon. If there is not a strong El Niño during next year, there will be an important recovery," he pointed out.