Brazil Holds Rate at 6.50% as Price Jump Seen as Temporary

Brazil’s central bank held its key rate at a record low and signaled plans to keep borrowing costs steady as price pressures ease.

The bank’s board, led by Ilan Goldfajn, kept the benchmark Selic unchanged on Wednesday at 6.5 percent for a third straight meeting. At the previous gathering in June, it signaled a possibility of tightening to counter a currency sell-off. Now, the central bank sees a relatively stable environment for emerging markets, as well as easing pressure on prices from a weaker currency and a nationwide truckers’ strike that started in late May.