It is the worst violence in Peru in two decades and threatens to destabilize one of region's most reliable economies. Armas' comments come a day after the central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at 7.75%, making it the first time since the second half of 2021 that the bank did not hike its rate. On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund called inflation Peru's most immediate policy challenge, in a statement following a staff visit to the country. Armas highlighted that inflation was seen to be on a "downward" trend, with January's figures slightly better than expected. The bank now forecasts inflation for early 2024 to reach 4.62%, above the previous forecast of 4.3%.

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