BOGOTA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Colombia’s central bank board is set to hold the benchmark interest rate steady for the third consecutive month at its Friday meeting, as it seeks to continue boosting an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic. All twelve analysts surveyed by Reuters last week agreed the seven-member board will keep borrowing costs at 1.75% at the meeting, with a majority expecting holds until December 2021. The policymakers cut 250 basis points from the rate between March and September to counteract the impact of more than five months of coronavirus quarantine and a collapse in consumption. “Inflation remains depressed and though the economy has recovered a bit in the quarter, it remains weak, so an expansive position from the bank is still needed,” said Wilson Tovar, head of economic studies at Acciones y Valores brokerage. The bank’s technical team predicts economic contraction of between 6.5% and 9% for this year. Though it expects a recovery in 2021, returning to pre-pandemic growth figures will take time. “Given our expectation that inflation will close 2020 at 1.4%, well below the target range, we think the period of rate stability could extend through almost all of 2021,” said Julio Romero, head economist at investment holding Corficolombiana. Inflation is set to finish the year at about half the target rate of 3%. Consumer price growth in the 12 months to November was 1.49% through November. The meeting will be Juan Jose Echavarria’s final outing as board chief. Echavarria, who did not seek re-election to his post, will be replaced on Jan. 1 by International Monetary Fund official Leonardo Villar. President Ivan Duque is expected to name two new board members in the first quarter of next year. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by Grant McCool)