Banxico holds key rate at 11.25%, removes guidance on hold

In a departure from the bank's December monetary policy statement, Thursday's announcement did not include previous guidance that the bank would need to maintain the benchmark rate at its current level "for some time" in order to bring inflation to target. "In the next monetary policy meetings, it will assess, depending on available information, the possibility of adjusting the reference rate," the statement said.

The Bank of Mexico's five-member board unanimously held its benchmark interest rate at 11.25% for a seventh straight monetary policy meeting, it said on Thursday, amid sticky inflation in Latin America's no. 2 economy.

The announcement came shortly after official data published on Thursday morning showed headline inflation accelerated for the third month in a row in January, although the closely-watched core index continued to decline. In a departure from the bank's December monetary policy statement, Thursday's announcement did not include previous guidance that the bank would need to maintain the benchmark rate at its current level "for some time" in order to bring inflation to target.

"In the next monetary policy meetings, it will assess, depending on available information, the possibility of adjusting the reference rate," the statement said.