Chile central bank keeps benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5%

SANTIAGO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Chile's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.5% on Wednesday, in line with expectations, as the country maintains its efforts to revive the economy following the coronavirus pandemic.

A central bank poll of traders last week predicted Chile's rate, its lowest in a decade, would remain unchanged for the next year at least, rising to 1.25% within 24 months. The world's No. 1 copper producer has kept its interest rate steady since successive cuts up until late March, when it warned of a "severe" economic contraction as a result of the virus. (Reporting by Aislinn Laing; Editing by Leslie Adler)