MNI BRIEF: Copom Will Not Hesitate To Hike Rates - Minutes

MNI (BRASILIA) - Brazil's Central Bank will not hesitate to raise its benchmark interest rate, but the monetary policy committee has emphasized that this stance does not imply a commitment to any future strategy, minutes from the last meeting said Tuesday.

"Committee unanimously believes that the current stage is of even greater caution and of diligent monitoring of inflation conditioning factors, without committing to future strategies. In the light of this monitoring, the Committee will assess which is the best strategy," the minutes showed.

The BCB held its official Selic rate at 10.50% last week for the second straight time after nearly a year of aggressive easing.

"Whether the strategy of maintaining the interest rate for a sufficiently long time will bring inflation to the target over the relevant horizon and, on the other hand, Copom unanimously reinforced that it will not hesitate to raise the interest rate to ensure inflation convergence to the target if it deems it appropriate," stressed the document. (See MNI POLICY: G20 CenBanks Concerned About Rate Normalization)