Chile Central Bank Holds Rates at 4.5%, Warns of More Severe War Impact

Chile’s central bank held its key interest rate unchanged for a third straight meeting, warning that the Middle East war stands to have a bigger-than-expected impact on global growth and inflation.

Board members led by Rosanna Costa voted unanimously to keep borrowing costs at 4.5% late on Tuesday, in line with expectations of all analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. In a statement, policymakers wrote that the Iran conflict “has unfolded more adversely” than they had foreseen in March, increasing risks that oil prices stay high.