BRASILIA: Brazil's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low 6.00% on Wednesday, making an aggressive move with the first reduction in borrowing costs since March 2018.

The bank's nine-member monetary policy committee, known as Copom, voted unanimously to lower the Selic rate by 50 basis points. Fourteen out of 27 economists in a Reuters poll predicted a 25-basis point cut to 6.25%, while 10 expected a more aggressive move to 6.00%.