March 30, 2017 - 2:04 PM
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's central bank says it has raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 6.50 per cent, in a bid to contain rising inflation.
The Bank of Mexico announced the hike from the previous 6.25 per cent on Thursday, after the country recorded a 5.29 per cent annual inflation rate in the first half of March. The bank's inflation goal is 3 per cent.
The move came despite significant gains by Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar in recent months.
The peso had fallen as low as 22 to $1 in January, when U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
But on Thursday the peso closed at an interbank rate of 18.67 to $1.
The bank said "despite the significant appreciation of the peso against the dollar ... uncertainty prevails in the international scene."
News from © The Associated Press, 2017