(Reuters) – Peru’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 4.75% on Thursday, in line with analysts’ expectations.
Peru, which has one of the lowest interest rates in Latin America, has since September 2023 gradually eased the key lending rate from a high of 7.75%.
In a statement, the central bank noted that its decision to hold the rate comes as it expects annual inflation in March to come toward the lower limit of its target range, before inching back up to the range’s midpoint.
Annual inflation in the world’s third-largest copper producer came in at 1.48% in February, already at the lower end of the central bank’s target range of 2%, plus or minus one percentage point.
Prices rose 0.19% month-on-month in February.
Meanwhile, annual core inflation, which strips out some volatile goods, is expected to hover around 2%, the central bank added.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
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