Brazil's Lula says he doesn't know if central bank head pick will be Galipolo
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BRASILIA, Aug 16 (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that he still does not know for sure whether he will pick central bank director Gabriel Galipolo as the monetary authority's next governor.
Galipolo, who served as the second in command at Lula's Finance Ministry before joining the central bank board, is seen by markets as the most likely nominee to succeed current central bank head Roberto Campos Neto, whose term ends in December.
Reuters, citing sources, on Thursday reported that Lula was looking at submitting all four of his upcoming nominations for the central bank board at once, including Galipolo for president. The nominations are expected in the coming weeks.
"Before nominating, I want to talk to the Senate chief so that the nominees are voted on quickly and don't suffer the wear and tear of political speculation for months and months," Lula told a local radio station on Friday.
If approved by the Senate, Lula's choices will take office in 2025, giving the leftist president seven picks on the central bank's nine-member interest rate-setting committee, known as Copom.
Lula has publicly criticized current central bank chief Campos Neto, who was appointed by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, claiming he is hurting the economy by keeping interest rates too high.
On Friday, however, Lula said he does not have any "personal issues" with the central bank head. He reinforced calls for lower rates in Latin America's largest economy, but reiterated he does not interfere with central bank decisions.
"If they need to hike interest rates, then they need to hike interest rates," Lula said.
Brazil's benchmark Selic rate now stands at 10.50%, and in their July meeting minutes policymakers said they would raise it if needed to control inflation.
Consumer prices in Brazil rose 4.50% in the 12 months through July, leaving annual inflation at the upper limit of the tolerance band for the central bank's target of 3%, plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Jonathan Oatis
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