Mexico’s Central bank has announced that it is holding its benchmark interest rate at 4.5 percent for the fourth successive month.

The bank has also spent much of the year slashing rates to encourage growth for the recession-wracked economic system.

The economy increased 2.9 percent in the third quarter over the previous one, while the administration predicts that Mexico’s GDP will fall about 7% overall in 2009.

Earlier, the bank has predicted that inflation will be around 4 percent till the end of this year, above its goal of 3 percent, but continuing a sliding trend.

Moreover, the bank has decided not to change the rate, which has not been raised since August 2008.

On the other hand, Mexico sends 80% of its exports to the United States & took the hardest hit from the worldwide crisis of any Latin American financial system.