U.S. growth may weaken more than foreseen, with effects on financial markets – in particular stock index reversals – and new  4  BIS Review 126/2010  postponements of the monetary stimulus withdrawal. The fiscal accounts in developed economies – especially in some countries in Europe – is still cause for concern, mainly because of their effects on perceived risks and in the final recovery of the world economy. Furthermore, measures adopted in China to limit credit growth and prevent an overheating may result in a weaker world economy and lower commodity prices. As usual, the persistence of global imbalances entails risks both on capital flows across economic areas and on the behavior of parities between different currencies. In the recent past, the trajectory of international food prices has reopened the concern on its future performance and its impact on inflation, given the high degree of pass-through we observed in Chile from world price hikes in 2007 and the first half of 2008. Overall, it is not that clear that, if wheat prices continue to rise internationally, the local economy will replicate them, because domestic margins have remained fairly large. If any of these scenarios materializes, there will be direct consequences for the growth and inflation scenario foreseen by the Board. After considering all the elements described, the Board believes that the balance of risks for inflation and output is unbiased, and we reiterate that we will continue to use our policies with flexibility so that projected inflation stands at 3% in the policy horizon.
8  BIS Review 126/2010  Figure 6 Stock market volatility (percent)  Long-term interest rates in developed economies (3) (percent)  120  120  6  6  100  100  5  5  80  80  4  4  60  60  3  3  40  40  2  2  20  20  1  1  0  0  0  0  07  08  09  10  Developed markets (1) Emerging markets (2)  05  06 U.S.  07  08 Japan  09  10 Eurozone  (1) Uses VIX volatility index. (2) Estimated volatility of the MSCI index in dollars. (3) 10-year government bond interest rates. Sources: Bloomberg and Morgan Stanley Capital International. Figure 7 Output gaps (*) (percent)  6  6  4  4  2  2  0  0  -2  -2  -4  -4  -6  08  09 June 2010 Report  10  11  -6  September 2010 Report  (*) Gray area shows forecast as from the third quarter of 2010. Source: Central Bank of Chile.