LatinNews Daily - 21 September 2026

*International credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed Chile’s long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) at ‘A-’ with a stable rating outlook. In a statement, Fitch said this was supported by “a relatively strong sovereign balance sheet, with government debt/GDP below that of peers”, as well as reflecting Chile’s “solid governance and track record of credible macroeconomic policies centered on an inflation-targeting regime and flexible exchange rates”. However, Fitch added that it projected per-capita income to “remain low relative to peers”, while also noting high commodity dependence and relatively weak external debt and liquidity metrics. The ratings agency stated that the right-wing government led by President José Antonio Kast was enacting various economic reforms, with Kast’s omnibus economic reconstruction bill serving as “the first leg of a broader agenda - including labor market reform, capital markets reform, and even faster permitting execution - that combined could lift the potential growth rate”. Despite these efforts, Fitch revised down its 2026 growth forecast to 0.7% from 1.6% previously, noting economic contraction of 0.3% year-on-year in the first half of the year, falling production at state-owned copper giant Codelco, the risks posed by a strong El Niño weather phenomenon, and a post-pandemic high unemployment rate of 9.5% in the rolling quarter ending in July. 

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