BOGOTA: Colombia’s inflation slowed more than expected last month, opening the door for the central bank to speed up its monetary easing cycle.

       Annual inflation slowed to 9.28% in December, below analysts’ median forecast of 9.45%. Prices rose 0.45% from a month earlier, according to the statistics agency.

       Transportation costs led the increase, followed by restaurant and hotels and alcoholic beverages, while the food inflation rate rose 5% from a year earlier.

       Inflation, excluding food prices, eased to 10.33% from a year earlier. The central bank targets inflation of 3%, plus or minus one percentage point.

       In December, the central bank cut interest rates for the first time in three years by a cautious quarter of a percentage point to 13% as policymakers cited uncertainty over the minimum wage increase, which the government finally set at 12%.

       Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla, who sits on the monetary policy committee, said last week that the wage increase was above what the majority of the board had forecast, and he estimates the central bank would not accelerate the pace of rate cuts until May. — Bloomberg