BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday held interest rates steady for the fifth consecutive time, pointing to worse inflation expectations, and acknowledged a more challenging scenario amid fears of a global banking crisis.
The bank’s rate-setting committee, known as Copom, kept its Selic benchmark interest rate at 13.75%. The decision, which defied intense pressure from the new government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to reduce borrowing costs, matched the expectations of all 30 respondents in a Reuters poll.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Chris Reese)
