MNI BRIEF: Hiking Cycle Would Be Gradual - BCB's Guillen

MNI (BRASILIA) - The Central Bank of Brazil's latest meeting minutes provided "strong evidence" that a possible hike cycle would be "gradual," BCB Deputy Governor for Economic Policy Diogo Guillen said Thursday.

"When I look at the minutes and see that there are these two options, for me, this is already a strong indication that the beginning of the cycle would be gradual, because you're thinking about keeping rates constant or starting a hike," Guillen told an event sponsored by UBS.

"There is a strong commitment to conduct monetary policy in a way that is necessary to achieve the inflation target. The usual approach is to start gradually and set a cycle to achieve the target, but now the shape of the cycle, as always, will be what it has to be to bring inflation to the target—whether it's the pace, the depth, the length, and so on," he added. (See MNI INTERVIEW: BCB To Hold Rates For Now Despite Worse Outlook)