Wednesday, September 7, 2016 Central Bank rates reach new Macri-era lowSturzenegger cuts interest payments for LEBAC notes after August inflationary slowdownAfter a day in which its directors met President Mauricio Macri to discuss the latest news regarding monetary policy, the Central Bank decided yesterday to continue cutting interest rates on its benchmark LEBAC notes, which are used to reduce the amount of circulating money in order to dampen inflationary tendencies. Interest rates still remain significantly above inflationary expectations for the next 12 months, however, meaning that investing on LEBAC notes is still attractive for bankers, financial institutions and individual investors. Over the last few weeks, the Central Bank has been cutting interest rates by half a point every Tuesday, as inflationary expectations have decreased throughout August. Inflation targetsIn a press release published yesterday, the Central Bank said that its inflation target for 2017 stands at 17 percent, significantly below what private analysts expect for 2016. In one of several differences the two officials have shown this year, Sturzenegger refused to stand by those targets, with the Central Bank committing to no inflationary target for 2016 explicitly.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald September 07, 2016 16:30 UTC