Brasília – Interest rates should not remain on an uptrend, as seen in the past months, according to the evaluation of the head of Economic Department of the Brazilian Central Bank (BC), Tulio Maciel. The forecast is due to a break in the cycle of Brazilian benchmark interest rate, Selic, which is used as a referential for interest rates charged by banks. On Wednesday (28th), BC’s Monetary Policy Committee (Copom, in the Portuguese acronym) decided to keep Selic at 11% per year.
“Every time there is a shift in the cycle, rates change. Sometimes not necessarily at the same moment. The trend is for this rise in the interest rate, as observed in the previous 12 or 13 months, not to continue”, said Maciel.
This Wednesday (29th), BC said the balance of credit operations in Brazil reached around US$ 1,239 trillion (or R$ 2,777 trillion) in April, up 0.6% in the month and 13.4% in the twelve-month period ended April. BC’s projection for the year is for credit to grow 13%. Last year, the increase was 14.6%. According to Maciel, restraint in credit growth “is important sustainability-wise.”
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
