(Adds comments from central bank governor)
MEXICO CITY, April 25 (Reuters) - The Bank of Mexico's
governing board may consider keeping its benchmark interest rate
steady at its next monetary policy meeting, in what would be its
first rate hold after 15 straight hikes, Central Bank Governor
Victoria Rodriguez said on Tuesday.
Banxico, as the Mexican central bank is known, hiked its key
lending rate by 25 basis points to 11.25% at its March 29
meeting, moderating the pace of a tightening cycle that began in
mid-2021 and striking a more dovish tone.
For nearly two years, the bank has boosted borrowing costs
to slow the rise in consumer prices.
"Headline inflation has already begun to decline since
August last year... Given these positive signs and the monetary
stance already achieved ... it would probably not be a surprise
if we evaluate the possibility of a rate hold" at the bank's May
18 meeting, Rodriguez said in a meeting with lawmakers.
Mexican inflation slowed in the first half of April and
the rate touched its lowest level in a year and a half, with the
annual headline figure reaching 6.24%.
Banxico would keep close watch on so-called core
inflation, Rodriguez added.
She stressed that persistent core inflation, which strips
out especially volatile food and energy prices, has kept the
overall rise in consumer prices above the bank's 3% target,
while also ruling out the possibility of a rate cut in the near
term.
"At least for the next decisions, we will not yet discuss
the possibility of a rate decrease. We need to consolidate the
decline in inflation," said Rodriguez.
The central banker added that despite some volatility the
peso currency has shown "notable resiliency" due to the
country's solid macroeconomic fundamentals.
She said the financial system in Mexico is well capitalized
and features liquidity buffers, and that in the absence of
unforeseen events, its solvency was not at risk.
(Reporting by Anthony Esposito, Diego Ore and Raul Cortes
Fernandez; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Christopher
Cushing)
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