With inflation showing no sign of easing, the Banco de Mexico, the country’s central bank, Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point to 7.75 percent.
Inflationary pressure has continued this month, pushing the consumer price index up by 0.49 percent in the first two weeks of June. The annual inflation rate reached 7.88 percent in the first half of June, its highest level in 21 years.
The prices of agricultural products grew by 0.85 percent during this period, according to the National Statistics Institute (Inegi).
The Banco de Mexico said further interest rate hikes are likely to offset the inflationary spiral. At the start of the year, the central bank set a target of three percent inflation for 2022.