Brazil & Southern Cone - April 2014 (ISSN 1741-4431)

Earthquake: On 1 April an earthquake registering 8.2 on the Richter scale struck northern Chile resulting in six deaths. The tremor mainly hit the region of Tarapacá and preliminary reports suggest that some 1,300 homes were severely damaged while another 10,600 more were partially affected. On 8 April the Bachelet government announced that it would assign C$1.6bn (US$3m) for reconstruction efforts in the north of the country.

Inflation: A report released by Chile’s national statistics institute (INE) on 8 April put monthly inflation in March at 0.8%, bringing the accumulated rate so far this year to 1.5%, while the inter-annual rate now stands at 3.5%. Inflation closed 2013 at 3.0%.