The Chilean peso appreciates for the third consecutive session on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported that after 20 months in the red, the Commerce Activity Index (IAC) returned to growth with an annual variation of 2.9% in January, while the Industrial Production Index grew by 3.6% annually in the first month of the year, its best result since August 2021 (4.2%).

Shortly after, in the United States, it was reported that the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy, increased by 0.4% since December and 2.8% from a year ago. The PCE, meanwhile, rose by 0.3% last month, with PCE inflation advancing by 2.4%. This marks the lowest year-on-year increase since February 2021, following December’s 2.6%.

Following the release of the data, futures traders, which settle at the official Federal Reserve interest rate, increased bets that the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates in June. There is now a 65% probability of a rate cut in that month, up from 60% before the data was released this morning.