UPDATE 1-Chile central bank chief says policy is in neutral

(Repeats with no change to headline or text)

* Chile cenbank could tighten or ease next- de Gregorio

* Central bank has held rates steady for two months (Adds comments, link to Insider interview)

By Dan Burns

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Chile is as likely to raise rates as to cut them when it next changes monetary policy, the country's central bank president, Jose de Gregorio, said on Thursday, adding that the decision will depend on economic conditions.

"If commodity prices keep rising ... then perhaps it could be tightening," he said in an interview with Reuters Insider, just outside a conference hall in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where central bankers were gathering for an annual meeting.

If the economic outlook worsens, he said, easing would be warranted, he said.

"We came from a tightening cycle, so basically what we did was to put it in neutral," he said. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For interview see: link.reuters.com/hyk43s

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Chile's central bank held its benchmark rate steady at 5.25 percent last week for a second month running after data showed second-quarter growth slowed and inflation expectations eased.

The bank is seen on hold for several more months, and is then expected to cut it to 5 percent by March, according to the bank's fortnightly poll of senior traders and financial players released this week. [ID:nN1E77N08G]

De Gregorio suggested such predictions are getting ahead of themselves.

"We will see," he said. "There's a lot of time from here to March."

Chile's economy grew 1.4 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, slowing from a revised 1.6 percent rate in the previous quarter, data showed last week, suggesting growth in one of Latin America's most solid economies was moderating. [ID:nN1E77H0K4]

De Gregorio said he expects growth to moderate further next year.

"Because we are coming out from a recession, all of that results in a speed-up of growth, but we should go back to more normal rates" next year, he said. (Reporting by Dan Burns; Writing by Ann Saphir; Editing by Jan Paschal, Gary Hill)