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InterviewsAugust 1 2017

Colombia’s central bank governor seeks to tame the inflation monster

Juan José Echavarría, governor of Colombia’s central bank, talks to Jacopo Dettoni about the impact of recent financial reforms and how the country is getting to grips with increasing inflation.
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Q: Colombia's central bank repeatedly cut interest rates in 2017. Are you comfortable with the current levels of inflation?

A: We are still in a restrictive monetary policy phase, but we are going through a smoother phase now. Inflation spiked [close to] 9% in mid-2016, way higher than our 3% target, and the central bank tightened up interest rates. We inverted that trend in December as inflationary pressures started cooling off. As long as inflation is coming down, we have space to cut interest rates to support economic growth. However, we are still facing the dilemma of a supply shock, which is causing hard times with decreasing but still high inflation rates, and growth well below our long-term potential.

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