MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s central bank will likely keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged in its next monetary policy decision, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday, amid a slowdown in inflation.
The 20 analysts polled by Reuters see the Latin American country’s central bank maintaining borrowing costs at the current rate of 11.25% for the second time in the announcement scheduled for Thursday..
The Mexican central bank, known as Banxico, unanimously held its benchmark interest rate steady at 11.25% in its last meeting, breaking a nearly two-year rate-hike cycle during which it raised the rate by 725 basis points to combat rising consumer prices.
The entity said in late May, following its last decision, that it would be necessary to hold the benchmark interest rate at its current level for an extended period of time to bring inflation down to its target range of 3% plus or minus 1 percentage point.
According to another Reuters poll, Mexico’s headline inflation could hit 5.30% in the first two weeks of June, reaching its lowest level in more than two years.
Banxico will announce its next interest rate decision on Thursday at 1 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).
(Reporting by Noe Torres; Additional reporting by Gabriel Burin in Buenos Aires; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
