Chile - Balance of payments

Between 1982 and 1984, the combination of world recession, slumping copper prices, rising foreign interest rates, and an unexpected rise in imports prompted the Pinochet regime to impose domestic austerity measures in order to meet IMF fiscal and monetary targets. The unrest that followed forced the government to request a 90-day moratorium on some debt repayments and seek rescheduling of $3.4 billion due in 1983–84. The current account balance averaged -$2 billion from 1980 to 1995, but fell again to -$4.5 billion in 1998. Following the 1998 recession, Chile applied tight monetary policies to push the current account into a small surplus in 1999. By 2000, however, the current account posted a $1 billion deficit.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that in 2001 Chile had exports of goods totaling $18.5 billion and imports totaling $16.4 billion. The services credit totaled $3.81 billion and debit $4.81 billion. The following table summarizes Chile's balance of payments as reported by the IMF for 2001 in millions of US dollars. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Chile's exports was $18.5 billion while imports totaled $18 billion resulting in a trade surplus of $500 million.