Uruguay's Central Bank of Uruguay this week ordered a 50 basis point increase in the interest rate policy, the eighth straight increase since last August. The move, which brings the monetary policy rate to 9.75%, means the central bank has ordered 525bp of increases in total over the past 11 months. The 50bp hike was somewhat smaller than the four previous hikes, which included April’s 125bp increase and three 75bp hikes.
Uruguay's central bank on Tuesday announced an increase of 75 basis points to 9,25%, in its monetary policy reference rate, meaning also the bank has entered the contractive phase, as so many other Latin American central banks, in an effort to rein in inflation.
According to a study by Uruguay's Central Bank released Wednesday, the country's economy has grown 4.4% in 2021, despite all COVID-19 restrictions. The new figures show a recovery from 2020's fall due to the sanitary measures in force, which led to a decline in GDP of 5.9%.
Although 76% of deposits in Uruguayan banks are in US dollars, credit rating consultants Moody's have said there was nothing to fear.
The Uruguayan central bank following the meeting of its Copom, Monetary Policy Committee, decided last week to raise the basic monetary policy rate from 4,5% to 5%, in line with what has been happening in other central banks in the region.
The Uruguayan Central bank in its second-quarter Monetary Policy report forecasted a 3,5% expansion for the country's economy, the same as the estimate of the Finance ministry, but anticipated higher inflation because of an increase in public rates and commodities.
The Uruguayan central bank is waiting for stronger signals of economic recovery before altering the current monetary policy, according to a release from the Monetary Policy Committee, Copom. In its third 2021 meeting, at the end of June, it ratified the current reference interest rate of 4,5% and anticipated it will wait for improved indicators from the pandemic battered economy.
Uruguay's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 2.8% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020, according to a Central Bank (BCU) report released Wednesday.
Uruguay has managed to keep inflation at 6.8%, which is within the government's target range for the first time in 36 months, it was announced Wednesday.
Uruguay's Central Bank Friday released its report for the first quarter of 2021 which highlighted the entity's concern regarding “three relevant risks” in a growth scenario of just 3.5% this year.