According to the latest ranking survey jointly released by MoneYou and Lev Intelligence, Brazil remains the second-highest country globally in terms of real interest rates, following only Russia, which currently holds the top spot. On January 28th, the Central Bank of Brazil maintained the benchmark interest rate (Selic) at 15%, resulting in a real interest rate for Brazil of 9.23% after deducting inflation.

This survey, spearheaded by Chief Economist Jason Vieira, covers the top 40 largest economies globally. In December of last year, Brazil had a real interest rate of 9.44%, which decreased to 9.74% in November. In January of this year, Russia surpassed Turkey to claim the top position with a real interest rate of 9.88%.

When considering nominal interest rates without factoring in inflation, Brazil's 15% benchmark interest rate ranks fourth globally, trailing behind Turkey (37%), Argentina (29%), and Russia (16%), but surpassing Colombia (9.25%), Mexico (7%), and South Africa (6.75%).

Economist Vieira pointed out that even if the Monetary Policy Committee were to lower the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 or 0.50 percentage points, Brazil would still hold its position as the second-highest globally in terms of real interest rates. He believes that the fiscal pressures brought about by government public expenditures remain a primary uncertainty for Brazil. While deflation has eased in certain aspects, the risk of deflation persists, continuing to place pressure on the Monetary Policy Committee in making decisions regarding interest rate adjustments.

In the analysis of 165 countries globally, 72.12% of countries maintained their interest rates, 7.27% raised rates, and 20.61% lowered rates; among the top 40 global economies, 67.5% kept rates unchanged, 2.5% raised rates, and 30% lowered rates.