Inflation Fears Forces Brazil to Lift Interest Rates for First Time in 6 Years
Posted on 03/18/2021
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), otherwise known as the Central Bank of Brazil, hiked its interest rate for the first time in almost 6 years. In a hawkish move, the Brazil central bank hiked the rate by 75 basis points to 2.75% in hopes to lower inflation. The committee made the decision to raise the benchmark SELIC rate from a record-low 2% was unanimous.
The Sistema Especial de Liquidação e Custodia (SELIC) (Special Clearance and Escrow System) is the Brazilian central bank’s system for performing open market operations in execution of monetary policy. The SELIC rate is the central bank’s overnight rate.