BRAZIL: Interest Rate Forecast For 2017 Kept Unchanged At 7%

(RTTNews) - Economists polled by the Brazilian central bank kept their estimates for the country's benchmark interest rate (Selic) unchanged for the eighth consecutive week at 7% by year-end. For 2018, estimates were kept at 7% for the seventh week in a row.

Average interest rate estimates for 2017 remained at 9.84% for the ninth week. For 2018, meanwhile, the forecast for the average interest rate dropped for the third week, to 6.84%, from 6.88% in the previous survey.

Last month, the Brazilian central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) cut the country's benchmark interest rate to 7.50%, from 8.25%, in line with market expectations.

Although the central bank's decision came as expected, some analysts noted that the monetary authority's statement raised doubts about the continuity of rate cuts in 2018.

For the Copom's meeting scheduled to take place in December, market players point to a cut of 0.50 pp in the Selic, which means a reduction in the monetary easing cycle's rhythm, taking the rate to 7.00% per year.