Costa Rica central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by 50 bps to 7.0%. That marks the third reduction since March, accumulating a total decrease of 200 bps, driven by persistent inflation, which has caused other central banks to retain restrictive monetary policies, as well as potential harmful effects of increased interest rates on global growth. Domestically, slowing economic growth and a trend of decreasing inflation also backed this decision. The bank anticipates the domestic disinflation trend to continue, projecting inflation rates for 12 and 24 months in 2023 to stabilize around 3.3%.