Argentina central bank cuts benchmark interest rate to 32%

(Reuters) -Argentina’s central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate to 32% from a previous rate of 35%, as the South American nation fights to tame triple-digit inflation.

The cut marks the eighth reduction to the key lending rate since libertarian President Javier Milei took office in December 2023.

The central bank said in a statement it based its decision on “the observed consolidation of expectations for lower inflation.”

Milei has presided over tough spending cuts, with inflation rates coming down but poverty rates climbing sharply as the economy entered into recession.

The announcement came shortly after the central bank published a market expectations survey in which analysts lowered their forecasts for this year’s inflation, predicting a rate of 118.8% by the end of the year.