Chile's central bank rejects interest rate hike

Chile's Central Bank President Jose de Gregorio said Wednesday the bank's reference interest rate will not surpass the current level of 5.25 percent despite the negative impacts from the world economic crisis. De Gregorio said Chile's economic development is still suffering from the adverse effects of the ongoing global economic slowdown. Yet the country is prepared to withstand future unfavorable economic scenarios thanks to its fiscal and monetary policies and the lessons it learned from the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2010 earthquake, he said. The interest rate has been stable at 5.25 percent since June, and the inflation forecasts for 2011 continue to stay at 3.3 percent. Independent surveys of the Central Bank, financial operators and analysts suggest that the interest rate should be reduced to about 5 percent in the next three months and to 4.75 percent during the next 12 months considering the slowdown in Chile's economic growth. Special Report: Global Financial Crisis