Chile’s Peso Holds Post-Election Gains As IPSA Cools From Record Run

The Chilean peso is starting Friday near 929 per dollar, effectively flat on the day and still close to its strongest levels since March.

The currency has rallied hard since last weekend’s first-round presidential vote, when right-of-center candidate José Antonio Kast emerged as the clear frontrunner for the December runoff against Communist rival Jeannette Jara.

For investors who had spent years discounting left-wing experiments in policy and constitution-writing, the prospect of a more predictable, market-friendly administration has been a powerful relief trade.

Overnight, there was little domestic news, so USD/CLP mainly shadowed the global dollar. The dollar index is hovering just above the 100 mark after a multi-week rebound driven by firmer U.S. data and a slower-than-expected shift away from dollar assets.

That backdrop limits how far the peso can strengthen in the very short term, even as Chile’s story improves. Fundamentals remain supportive.

Copper is holding near the upper end of this year’s range, Chile’s current-account deficit is modest, and the central bank’s policy rate at 4.75% still implies mildly positive real yields with only gradual further easing signalled.

Chile’s Markets Cool but Peso Trend Stays Firm

The Finance Ministry continues to sell hard currency while the central bank rebuilds reserves, keeping USD/CLP anchored in a broad 900–1,000 band.

Technically, the daily chart shows USD/CLP in a clear downtrend, trading below its key moving averages with an RSI around 38, signalling a strong but not over-extended peso.

On the four-hour chart, however, MACD and RSI have turned up from depressed levels, pointing to a short-term corrective bounce in the dollar after an aggressive post-election slide.

Equities are pausing after their own surge. The S&P IPSA slipped about 0.7% to 9,802 points on Thursday, just under recent record highs.

Top gainers were Parque Arauco, Sonda, CMPC, Ingevec and Cencosud Shopping, all up around 1–2%. The main losers were Colbún, Almendral, Enel Chile, ILC and SQM-B, which fell between 2% and 3.5%.

Latam Airlines, SQM-B, Banco de Chile, SAAM and Falabella again dominated trading volumes, underscoring how global growth, commodities and retail names are the preferred vehicles for Chile’s post-election re-rating.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error