BOGOTA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Colombian President Ivan Duque named economist Jaime Jaramillo to the central bank’s board on Friday, the third such appointment to the board this month. Two appointments earlier in February sparked predictions that interest rate cuts may be on the horizon as policymakers seek to lift economic growth even amid forecasts that inflation will soon begin to rise. Jaramillo, who holds a doctorate in economics from Boston University, will replace Arturo Galindo, who is leaving the board for personal reasons. “I have designated Dr. Jaime Jaramillo Vallejo as a board member of the central bank, replacing Arturo Galindo,” Duque posted on Twitter. Jaramillo has also held posts at the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and Colombia’s national planning department. The bank’s seven-member board has held the benchmark interest rate at 1.75% for four months, but two policymakers argued at both the December and January meetings for a quarter-percentage-point cut. A second surge of coronavirus infections and restrictions imposed by large cities early in the year to stop the spread of the virus will slow economic recovery, the bank said last week. It lowered its growth forecast for 2021 to between 2% and 6%, with 4.5% as the most likely figure. Board members can serve up to three four-year terms. Presidents by law can replace two members, but Duque has now named a total of five, after a former policymaker became vice minister of finance and two others resigned. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb Editing by Jonathan Oatis)