BOGOTA - Colombian Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla, who is also a director of the country's central bank, said on Wednesday he will ask the board to start cutting the benchmark interestBOGOTA - Colombian Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla, who is also a director of the country's central bank, said on Wednesday he will ask the board to start cutting the benchmark interest rate at the board's meeting next week, citing a slowdown of inflation.
"I'm going to insist the bank start sending the message it's lowering rates from September, even if it's a very small reduction, but that the message starts being sent," Bonilla, one of the central bank board's seven directors, told reporters. Most analysts expect the bank will hold the rate steady at its meeting on Sept. 29 because inflation is decreasing at a slower than expected rate.