Colombia’s rate hikes nearing an end: Villar

Bloomberg

The steepest series of interest rate increases in Colombia is nearing an end as inflation is expected to slow sharply with the economy set for a hard landing next year, the country’s central bank chief said.
Policymakers have responded to the highest inflation in more than two decades — due mainly to international factors — with a “contractionary” policy stance, the bank’s governor Leonardo Villar said in an interview with El Espectador newspaper.
“I couldn’t say at this point that the rate increase process is over,” Villar said. “I can say is that we are getting closer to what could be considered the ceiling of that process.”
The central bank lifted the benchmark rate to 12% at its December meeting, representing a 10.25 percentage point increase since the cycle began in 2021.