Central Bank Preview - 2300GMT/1800ET

All 10 surveyed economists on Bloomberg expect the Peru Central Bank to keep it's reference interest rate at 0.25%.

• The January statement reiterated the forward guidance. The central bank will maintain high levels of monetary stimulus "for an extended period as long as the negative effects from the pandemic over inflation and its determinants persist."
• They also reaffirmed they are "ready to increase the monetary stimulus through different instruments." For reference, this would not be through any additional rate cuts, instead by new monetary operations conditional on the expansion of long-term credit in order to reinforce the transmission of its monetary policy actions towards long-term interest rates.
• Inflation printed well above forecasts of 0.11 m/m at 0.74% m/m. This drove the annual figure up to 2.68%. However annual core inflation actually fell to 1.69%.
• Recent escalations in Covid cases may hinder the continued recovery of domestic demand. Additionally, a looming presidential election campaign should keep the bank in full accommodation mode for at least the first half of 2021.