NBS holds for third consecutive meeting: At its meeting on 12 December, the Executive Board of the National Bank of...
Policy Interest Rate in Costa Rica
The policy rate ended 2022 at 9.00%, up from the 1.25% end-2021 value, and higher than the reading of 3.75% a decade earlier. For reference, the average policy rate in the Central America and Caribbean was 6.40% at end-2022. For more interest rate information, visit our dedicated page.
Costa Rica Interest Rate Chart
Note: This chart displays Policy Interest Rate (%) for Costa Rica from 2014 to 2023.
Source: Macrobond.
Costa Rica Interest Rate Data
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Policy Interest Rate (%, eop) | 2.75 | 0.75 | 1.25 | 9.00 | 6.00 |
| Basic Rate (%, eop) | 5.75 | 3.50 | 2.90 | 6.35 | 5.36 |
Central Bank cuts rates in October
BCCR cuts again: At its meeting on 17 October, the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) decided to reduce the policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.00%. The move followed September’s 50 basis points cut.
Inflation risks skewed to the downside: The Bank reiterated that it still expects inflation to rise and return to the 2.0–4.0% target in Q3 2025. Nonetheless, it now sees risks to the inflation outlook skewed to the downside versus balanced in September, which prodded it to continue cutting rates. These risks include a decline in inflation expectations should inflation remain below target for longer, weaker-than-expected growth in key trading partners, and slower-than-anticipated monetary policy transmission in the country.
Additional cuts in 2025: The BCCR hinted at further cuts going forward, while stating that any changes to the policy rate will be “gradual and prudent”. The vast majority of our panelists expect the Bank to hold rates at its last meeting of the year on 19 December. Our Consensus is for 50 basis points of further cuts by end-2025.
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Costa Rican interest rate projections for the next ten years from a panel of 10 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable interest rate forecast available for Costa Rican interest rate.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Costa Rican interest rate projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Costa Rican interest rate forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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