BCRA Relaunches Market Expectations Survey (REM)

This survey is aimed to examine the feedback received from local and foreign expert analysts. It will enable to make a systematic follow-up of the main macroeconomic forecasts for Argentina’s economy evolution in the short and medium term. You can assess here to the first results of the REM in which 46 participants (37 from Argentina) took part from 28 to 30 June. The survey suggests a slowdown of inflation to 1.6% monthly in December 2016 (21% annualized).

The REM will be conducted over the last 3 business days of every month and will cover expectations about retail prices, the BCRA monetary policy rate, the nominal exchange rate, the economic activity level, and the primary income of the non-financial national public sector. Aggregate income will be posted the second business day of the following month at Market Expectations Survey.

The survey has been designed on the basis of the best experiences gained by central banks having Inflation Targets within the region such as Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, along with the BCRA’s own expertise built on 2004-2012 REMs.

The purpose of a survey like the REM is to contribute towards a transparent communication policy—of vital importance for any central bank seeking price stability under an inflation target scheme—. Information supplied is relevant for monetary and economic policy decisions as well as for consumption- and investment-oriented decisions. Thus, transparency becomes a public asset as it provides the community with the best possible information on experts’ forecasts regarding the future performance of the main economic variables.

To know more about the methodology and design of the REM, click here.

July 4th, 2016