Argentina central bank keeps benchmark interest rate at 27.75%

Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 08:59 UTC

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The bank said it did not expect significant depreciation of the Peso in coming months, after it sold over US$2 billion in reserves this year to halt the peso’s slide.

Argentina’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 27.25% this week, the monetary authority said in a statement, noting that high-frequency indicators suggested core inflation would remain high in April, but below March’s levels.

In a statement, the bank reiterated that inflation would begin to fall after a series of hikes in regulated prices end this month. It said it did not expect significant depreciation of the peso currency in the coming months, after it sold over US$2 billion in reserves this year to halt the peso’s slide.

“However, currency intervention is a complement to and not a substitute for monetary policy,” the central bank said, noting that it was “prepared to act by adjusting the monetary policy rate” if inflation does not decline after “transitory impacts” such as regulated price hikes pass.

Economists expect consumer prices to rise 20.3% in 2018, above the central bank target of 15%. Argentina’s government is expected to publish March inflation data later this week.

Categories: Economy, Argentina.

Tags: Argentina, argentina economy, benchmark interest rate, Central Bank of Argentina, Economists.

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Marti Llazo
Argentine benchmark interest rate at 27.25%.

The sure sign of a history of wise monetary policy.

Benchmark interest rate at 2.5 percent for Chile.
Apr 12th, 2018 - 12:24 pm 0
The Voice
Gulp!
Apr 12th, 2018 - 12:59 pm 0
Enrique Massot
Inflation remains stubbornly high, even when the Macri government officials continue to say rates are slowing down.

In addition, the energy bills have gone crazy as well as food prices.

Foreign borrowing continues at a crazy pace and the government uses the money to keep the lights on as the IMF looms closer by the day.

Small and medium-size enterprises are taking the brunt of reduced consumption and wide-open imports.

Some say the government does not know where it's going. I disagree. Macri and his team are operating a monstrous adjustment of the economy to support 1,000 families and to hell with the rest.
Apr 13th, 2018 - 10:25 pm -1

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