Brazil central bank holds interest rate at 13.75%

BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s central bank held its key interest rate steady for the sixth straight time Wednesday, despite pressure from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a rate cut to kick-start Latin America’s biggest economy.

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Citing “resilient” inflation and an “external environment that remains adverse,” the bank’s monetary policy committee said it had decided to leave the benchmark rate at 13.75 percent.