Latin America Weekly: BanRep’s dovish shift, Copom nearing an end

The unanimous decision by Colombia's central bank to lower its policy rate by 25bp, to 9.25%, earlier this week suggests that the Board is more dovish than we’d thought. That will raise fears, similar to those in Brazil late last year, that monetary policy decisions are becoming politicised given President Petro’s repeated calls for looser monetary policy and his appointment of a majority of members. Elsewhere, while Brazil’s central bank will almost certainly hike interest rates when it meets on Wednesday, policymakers are likely to give much clearer guidance that the tightening cycle is nearly over.