The board of directors of Banco de la República kept the interest rate at 4.25%

At the seventh meeting of the Board of the Bank of the Republic, the Issuer decided to keep the interest rate unchanged at 4 , 25%, that he left at the meeting To make this decision, the director general of the Bank, Juan Jose Echavarría, said that they took into account the stability of inflation and their expectations above the target, as well as some risks that could put pressure on inflation increases and delays convergence to 3% as is the case of the depreciation of the peso stronger than expected .

"Food inflation is a risk we already had, now we could face a currency risk, the exchange rate is volatile, unpredictable, and there has been so much international volatility, but it is not sure that the rate is stable, "he said.

Similarly, the manager pointed out that for an extended period of time where the growing trend of confidence persists, the dynamics of aggregate demand may be better than expected. "The uncertainty in this regard is high," he said.

The Council also pointed out that inflation had risen slightly and stood at 3.2%. "The food and the goods and services most affected by the exchange rate were the groups that have contributed the most to the rise in inflation.At the same month, all the measures of inflation of base have fallen and their average is set at 3.33%. "

For its part, Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas said that most of the indicators of the economy had a upward trend. "Industry and advertising confidence is high, exports are up 15%," he said, predicting the economy would grow 2.6% in the second quarter and reaffirming its projection of 2.7 % to 2018.

"Even, some council votes predict that the economy will grow by 3% in 2018. We are more optimistic in growth, but there is greater potential volatility," said Cárdenas.