MEXICO CITY, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Mexico’s central bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate as expected by 50 basis points to 6.00%, a sixth straight rate increase, as policymakers sought to keep price pressures in check with inflation running high.

Four of the Bank of Mexico’s board, including new governor Victoria Rodriguez, voted for the half a percentage point increase, while member Gerardo Esquivel voted for a 25 basis points hike to 5.75%, the bank said in a policy statement.

Saying “new governor, same script”, Nikhil Sanghani, an economist at Capital Economics, noted Rodriguez had sided with the majority in maintaining the bank’s hawkish stance.

“As we suspected, the new governor Victoria Rodriguez did not want to rock the boat,” Sanghani said in a research note.

Banxico said in its statement that inflationary pressures have been greater and lasted longer than anticipated, noting that forecasts for headline and core inflation were revised upwards, especially for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.

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