BOGOTA The technical team of Colombia's central bank on Wednesday lowered its outlook for inflation in 2023 to 9%, from 9.5% previously, citing a recent slowing of consumer price growth.
The revision in the team's quarterly monetary policy report follows the unanimous decision by the bank's board on Monday to hold the benchmark interest rate stable at 13.25% for the second month in a row.
The team also now expects Latin America's fourth largest economy to post growth of 0.9% this year, compared with a previous forecast of 1%.
Colombia's 12-month inflation through June 30 hit 12.13%, slightly below the 12.2% expected by analysts who were consulted for a Reuters poll.
The technical team forecast that inflation would end 2024 at 3.5%, close to the bank's long-term target of 3%, but above a previous forecast of 3.4%.
Most analysts expect the board will start cutting the rate in September or October to avoid greater impact on growth, though Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said cuts would depend on further deceleration of inflation.
President Gustavo Petro said this week he also expects rate cuts from September.
Analysts expect the board to cut the benchmark interest rate to 11.75% by the end of this year, before lowering it further to 7.25% at the end of 2024.
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
