(Reuters) – Mexico’s 12-month headline inflation rate fell again in September, after easing in the previous month, raising expectations that the central bank will continue to cut its benchmark interest rate.
Annual headline inflation in Latin America’s second-largest economy hit 4.58% last month, data from statistics agency INEGI showed on Wednesday, below the 4.62% expected in a Reuters poll and down from the August figure of 4.99%.
The closely watched core consumer price index, considered a more reliable measure of price trends as it excludes volatile energy and food prices, continued to slow, hitting 3.91% in the 12 months through September, down from 4.00% in August.
Last month, the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time this year, bringing it down to 10.50%. The bank’s board has noted that cooling prices would likely mean it could keep lowering borrowing costs.
Mexico’s central bank has two more monetary policy decisions scheduled later this year, with polls showing the benchmark interest rate might end 2024 at 10% and dip to 8% in 2025.
(Reporting by Ricardo Figueroa and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
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