Chile holds rates at 5%, leaves future cuts open

Limited impact: A street market in the Lastarria neighbourhood in Santiago, Chile. The central bank board members said both headline and core inflation have diminished in recent months and upward price risks from earlier this year have moderated. — Bloomberg

SANTIAGO: Chile’s central bank kept its interest rate unchanged and signalled it will resume cuts in coming months as long as the economic impact from global uncertainty – including the Middle East conflict – remains limited.

Policymakers led by Rosanna Costa voted unanimously to hold borrowing costs steady at 5% late on Tuesday, as expected by 16 of 21 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.