Brazil affirms basic interest rate at 6.5 pct

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 20 (Xinhua) -- BRAZIL's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) announced on Wednesday evening a unanimous decision to affirm the country's annual basic interest rate Selic at 6.5 percent.

It was the eighth consecutive time the committee maintained the Selic rate at this level. And it is the lowest Selic rate ever registered in BRAZIL.

Even though the BRAZILian economy is recovering, its performance is still below expectations according to recent indicators, the committee said, reiterating the importance of continuing to carry out economic reforms.

"Continuing the process of necessary reforms and adjustments in the BRAZILian economy is essential for keeping the inflation rate low in the middle and long term, for the structural interest rates to fall, and for the economy to recover in a sustainable manner," Copom said.

Further adjustments to the Selic rate will depend on the evolution of the economic scenario, Copom added.

Copom meets every six weeks to decide whether to change the Selic rate. This was the first meeting of Copom since economist Roberto Campos Neto took office as head of BRAZIL's central bank.