Peru's central bank keeps benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.75%

Peru, which has one of the lowest interest rates in Latin America, has gradually cut its benchmark lending rate from a high of 7.75% since September 2023.

The central bank said in a statement that its decision to keep interest rates unchanged was based on expectations that annual inflation would be near the lower end of its target range in March before slowly rising back toward the midpoint of that range.

In February, annual inflation in the world’s third-largest copper producer was 1.48%, already at the lower end of the central bank’s 2% target range (plus or minus one percentage point).

Prices rose 0.19% quarter-on-quarter in February.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out some volatile items, is expected to hover around 2% annually, the central bank added.