Colombia Minutes Highlight Hawkish Tone

Minutes from the Colombian central bank’s last policy meeting, when kept rates unchanged at 9.25%, maintain a hawkish bias. They acknowledge a fall in inflation while also noting that price increases are above target. “The Bank conveys a data-dependent tone and, at a minimum, indications that it will work to keep expectations anchored until impacts from its tightening to date become more evident,” says Merrill Lynch. Others detected a slightly different tone. “The minutes of the central bank’s October monetary meeting, in which the board of directors voted unanimously to leave the reference rate unchanged, had a less hawkish tone than the minutes from earlier meetings,” says Credit Suisse. It adds that the central bank is starting to see the benefits of tightening that started in April 2006.