Brazil Central Bank Pauses Cycle of Interest Rate Cuts in Unanimous Decision Sought by Markets

  • Rate hold at 10.5% was expected by most economists in survey
  • Policymakers signal rates to remain restrictive for long time
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Brazil’s central bank held its key interest rate in a unanimous vote, fueling a rally in the real as it signaled borrowing costs will be steady for a prolongued period to battle rising inflation estimates.

Policymakers kept the benchmark Selic unchanged at 10.5% late on Wednesday, as expected by nearly all economists in a Bloomberg survey. They paused an easing cycle that had lowered rates by 3.25 percentage points.