The Board of Governors of Banco de México will increase the rate target by 50 basis points to leave it at 6% during its meeting on February 10, projected the economist for Mexico and Canada of Bank of America Securities, Carlos Capistrán.
If the decision is made unanimously, it will send an encouraging signal about the central bank’s commitment to its inflation target, he said.
However, the expert admitted in the analysis that there may be different balances in the composition of the vote to support the increase of half a percentage point.
As you may remember, this Thursday’s monetary announcement will be the premiere of Governor Victoria Rodríguez Ceja.
In an analysis disclosed to their clients, BofA Securities economists argued that the Bank of Mexico is under pressure to continue raising the rate despite the weak economy.
This is due to the persistence of inflation, which remains far from the specific objective of 3% (it stood at 7.13% annually, in the first half of January); the underlying one that continues to be pushed upwards (it reached 6.11% in the first half of January and has risen for 27 fortnights) and in an international context where the United States Federal Reserve has given signs that it will aggressively raise its rate.
The strategist expects six rate hikes this year, which would take the yield to 7.25% by the end of 2022.