Peru’s central bank has left its key interest rate unchanged at 4.25%.

In a statement on March 12, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) said a domestic gas crisis, bad weather and rising global energy prices would push inflation above 2% in the near term. Annual inflation rose to 2.2% in February, up from 1.7% in January – the first time in more than a year that the figure had gone above the midpoint of the bank’s 1–3% target range. Core inflation increased from 2% to 2.2% in the same period