Banco de la Republica de Colombia keeps benchmark interest rate at 4¼%

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, June 29 – The board of directors of the Banco de la Republica de Colombia unanimously decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at 4¼%, according to a news release.

The board said annual inflation stopped falling in the last two months, and in May it stood at 3.16%. In the same month, the average of the basic inflation measures was 3.43%.

The bank said inflation expectations did not show significant changes, with the average expectations coming in at 3.35% and 3.34% for December 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The growth of trading partners continues to recover, the release said, and oil prices remain at levels that exceed the averages recorded in the last two years.

The board said an increase in the terms of trade and the expected dynamics of external demand would continue to favor the recovery of the country’s external revenues. Despite this, the bank said the Colombian peso has depreciated against the dollar in the last month in an environment of increased risk.

The bank said its technical team maintained its growth estimate for 2018 at 2.7%.

The board said it will continue to carefully monitor the behavior of inflation and projections of economic activity in the country, as well as the international situation.

© 2015 Prospect News.
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