| Colombia’s central bank kept borrowing costs unchanged as it seeks to gauge whether nine interest rate increases in 13 months will be enough to prevent the fastest growth since 2007 from stoking inflation. The seven-member board, led by bank chief Jose Dario Uribe, held the benchmark rate at 5.25 percent today, as forecast by 16 of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Fourteen analysts, including the three with the most accurate forecasting record in Bloomberg surveys, expected a 0.25-point increase. The bank last kept the rate unchanged in December. “The central bank seems more comfortable with the way inflation and inflation expectations are going, and more comfortable with the fact that they’re converging to mid- target,” said Katia Diaz, a Latin American economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York, who correctly forecast today’s decision. “If there’s any change to the inflation outlook, then we can look at a resumption of rate hikes.”http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-23/colombia-keeps-5-dot-25-percent-rate-to-gauge-effect-of-nine-increases |
