Colombia Tasa De Interés

The central bank of Colombia lowered its benchmark interest rate to 12.25% in its March meeting, in line with the anticipated 50 bps cut. This marked the third rate reduction after the board paused rates for four consecutive meetings. In February, total inflation dropped to 7.7%, down by 1.5 percentage points from January, while inflation excluding food and regulated items fell to 7.3%. Analysts' inflation expectations decreased from 5.7% to 4.7% in the median sample, and from 3.8% to 3.5% in one and two years. The technical team revised down the inflation forecast for late 2024 to 5.4%. They also project a 1.1% growth in 2024, up from the previous 0.8% forecast. Domestic demand contracted by 3.8% in 2023, reducing the current account deficit to 2.7% of GDP. The Board's decision today accelerates interest rate reduction to guide inflation to its target by mid-2025, pending new information.