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Article: HIGH INTEREST RATES TO LIMIT MEXICAN ECONOMIC GROWTH IN FOURTH QUARTER OF 1998.
- Article from:
- SourceMex Economic News & Analysis on Mexico
- Article date:
- September 30, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A recent surge in interest rates could have negative repercussions for several sectors of the Mexican economy during the rest of this year and into next year. In mid- September, the short-term interest rates set by the Banco de Mexico (central bank) hovered near 50%, which brought interest rates on credit cards and other consumer loans close to 70%. The central bank eventually lowered the short-term rates, but the reductions were deemed insufficient to prevent a slowdown in key sectors of the economy in the last quarter of the year.
The central bank had set interest rates high to protect the Mexican peso from the global financial crisis, caused by problems in ...