Brazil Copom held the Selic rate unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday, repeating the rationale of its last communiqué -  ie, that the decision was reached after evaluating the macroeconomic scenario, inflation outlook, and current balance of risks, and considering heightened uncertainties on the external side and, less significantly, on the domestic side.

The decision was not a unanimous one, two board members continued to vote for a 50bp hike. Stronger-than-expected underlying inflation in February's IPCA-15 print and heightened inflation expectations are most likely reasons behind their vote. The split decision will not lead markets to price an imminent hike but prevent them from pricing an early monetary policy easing.

"We continue to expect the BCB to start easing by August of this year - by then, inflation should have decreased in y/y terms, and incoming data will likely reinforce the marked deterioration of the labor market. We forecast that the Copom will cut the Selic rate by 125bp this year." said Barclays in a report.