The Central Bank has maintained Brazil's key interest rate (SELIC) at 11% per annum. The decision was announced on Wednesday (July 16) following a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) made up of Central Bank directors.

The Monetary Policy Committee stopped the upward trend of the SELIC hike in May, by holding the interest rate at that level after nine consecutive increases.

In a statement, the Central Bank explained that their decision was based on the outcomes of the macroeconomic scenario and the outlook for inflation.

The SELIC rate is used to keep the official inflation gauged by the Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) within the target established by the National Monetary Committee (CMN) of 4.5% per annum, with an upper target range of plus two percentage points.

According to the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE), the IPCA was at an annualized 6.52% by June. Financial market analysts heard by the Central Bank expect it to close out 2014 at 6.48%.