Colombia Unexpectedly Holds Rates, Provoking Petro’s Fury

Colombia’s central bank unexpectedly kept its key interest rate unchanged for a second straight meeting, drawing the ire of President Gustavo Petro who suggested the decision was meant to influence next year’s presidential elections.

The seven-member board held the benchmark rate steady at 9.25% in a split vote: four supported the idea of maintaining the rate stable, two were for a half-point cut and one for a quarter-point cut, Governor Leonardo Villar said Thursday at a press conference in Bogota.