World News | Mexico's Inflation Rises, Leading to Interest Rate Hike

Mexico City, Feb 10 (AP) Mexico's inflation rate rose in January to 7.91 per cent, leading the country's central bank to boost its principle interest rate to 11 per cent on Thursday.

The Bank of Mexico said inflation was not going down as expected, and was likely to remain high for some time. The bank said Mexico's inflation rate is not likely to decline to the official goal of 3 per cent until late 2024 or early 2025.

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The bank said underlying inflation showed a "surprising" increase to 8.45 per cent. Food products experienced an annualized inflation of 14 per cent, threatening to erase much of the annual 20 per cent increase in minimum wages announced for 2023.

The central bank's interest rate is at its highest level since 2007. The Mexican peso rose 0.9 per cent against the US dollar Thursday to close at 18.77 to USD 1.

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The bank said in a statement that "among the global risks are a pandemic, the persistence of inflationary pressures, the worsening of geopolitical tensions and tighter monetary and financial conditions." (AP)

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