The Board of Directors of the
agreed to keep the reference rate steady at 4.75%.
The decision to maintain the reference rate considered the following information and projections:
i. In February, monthly total inflation and core inflation were 0.19%. Between January and February, year-on-year inflation decreased from 1.9 to 1.5%, influenced in part by the lower year-on-year variation in food prices, which reached 0.6% in February. The year-on-year core inflation fell from 2.4% in January to 2.1% in February, close to the midpoint of the target range.
ii. Global inflation is expected to decrease, with most central banks gradually approaching their targets. However, in some countries, this convergence could take longer.
iii. One-year-ahead inflation expectations decreased from 2.37 in January to 2.28% in February, within the target range.
iv. Year-on-year inflation is expected to approach the lower bound of the target range in March, as the reversal of supply factors continues, before eventually returning to levels close to the center of the target range. Likewise, core inflation is expected to remain around 2%.
v. In February, a recovery is observed in the majority of current situation indicators and those related to economic activity expectations. All expectation indicators remained at the optimistic territory for the second consecutive month, with economic activity around its potential level. The economic activity indicators show higher growth in recent months.
vi. While the outlook for global economic activity points to moderate growth, the risks to global economic activity have increased due to the high uncertainty regarding the impact of restrictive measures on international trade. In this context, high volatility has been observed in financial markets.
The Board is particularly attentive to new information on inflation and its determinants, including the evolution of core inflation, inflation expectations, and economic activity, to consider, if necessary, additional changes in the monetary stance.
It reaffirms its commitment to adopt the necessary actions to maintain inflation within the target range.
The Board also decided on the following interest rates on its window facility operations in domestic currency with financial entities:
i. Overnight deposits: 2.75% per year.
ii. Direct security/currency repo and rediscount operations: i) 5.25% per year for the first 10 operations in the last 3 months and ii) the interest rate set by the Monetary and Exchange Operations Committee for operations in addition to these 10 operations in the last 3 months.
Besides, the Monetary and Exchange Operations Committee may establish higher rates based on the amount of the operations.
The BCR Board's next monetary policy session will take place on April 10, 2025.