Colombian Inflation Slows More Than Forecast to Least Since 2021

(Bloomberg) -- Colombian inflation slowed more than forecast to its lowest level since 2021, bolstering President Gustavo Petro’s calls for faster monetary easing.

Consumer prices rose 6.86% in July from a year earlier, the statistics agency said Thursday, from 7.16% in June. Prices rose 0.20% from a month earlier, below the 0.28% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

With July’s result, annual inflation resumed its downward trend after an uptick in June, though its still more than twice the central bank’s target of 3%.

On Wednesday, President Gustavo Petro reiterated his call for policymakers to step up the pace of monetary easing to revive economic growth. At last month’s monetary policy meeting, the central bank cut its key interest rate half a percentage point to 10.75%.

Some analysts, including those at Scotiabank Colpatria and JPMorgan, expect the central bank to accelerate the pace of interest rate cuts at its Sept. 30 meeting.