SANTIAGO, Chile – Central Bank President José De Gregorio said his institution won’t intervene to devalue the Chilean peso, which has been Latin America’s top performer during the past three months.

De Gregorio said the Central Bank hasn’t decided whether it will adjust the exchange rate, but it will continue to scrutinize the peso’s performance on the financial market.

The peso has gone up in value 9.4% against the U.S. dollar in the past three months – the highest appreciated of any Latin American currency analyzed by Bloomberg.

The Central Bank last tinkered with the peso in 2008, purchasing US$5.8 billion in pre- announced daily auctions of US$50 million, according to Bloomberg.

“This is a global phenomenon,” De Gregorio said. “You can apply measures or you don’t apply measures. Our decision is that they haven’t been prudent at this time.”

[Latercera.com (Chile), 19/10/2010; Americaeconomia.com (Chile), 19/10/2010; Bloomberg (Chile), 19/10/2010]