Fed interest rate hike triggers similar rises in Mexico, Chile

After the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25 percent on Wednesday, the first rise in almost 10 years, the central banks of Mexico and Chile followed suit on Thursday.

Mexico responded to its neighbor's optimism by raising rates by 0.25 percent to reach 3.25 percent, which was Mexico's first interest rate hike since 2008.

In a statement about its decision, the Bank of Mexico stated that the increase was directly linked to the Fed rise since "the absence of the adjustment in our own interest rate could generate additional depreciation...and affect inflation expectations."

Mexico is enjoying a decent performance in 2015, with its economy growing by 3 percent in the third quarter.

In a similar move, president of Chile's central bank, Rodrigo Vergara, announced on Thursday that the country would raise interest rates to 3.5 percent by a 0.25 percent hike.

Unlike the U.S. and Mexico, Chile already made a rise of 0.25 percent in October.

After the first rate hike, Chile's inflation briefly dipped to 3.9 percent, the first time it has been within the government's 2 percent-4 percent tolerance range since March 2014.

However, Vergara warned last week that this was not likely to be repeated, saying that "our projections...show that inflation will rise above 4 percent...and stay there for several months in 2016." Endi