According to Colombia’s MPC July minutes, central bankers identified the ongoing El Nino weather phenomenon, rising fuel prices, and global uncertainty as risks to Colombian inflation. Officials unanimously voted to keep interest rates at 13.25%, emphasizing the need for caution in future monetary policy decisions to ensure inflation converges to the 3% target. Although inflation has slowed recently, it is still excessively high, prompting policymakers to maintain their contractionary monetary policy stance. In June, foreign bondholders sold a net of USD 479 million in Colombian local bonds. Notably, FDI rose by 18% to USD 5.8 bln through May.