(Adds quotes from meeting minutes) SANTIAGO, July 30 (Reuters) - Chile’s central bank pondered keeping its key interest rate unchanged at its July monetary policy meeting before deciding to announce a hike, the institution said in minutes released on Friday. The bank raised rates to 0.75% from 0.5% in mid-July as a rapid COVID-19 vaccination program helped revive the top copper producer’s economy. All monetary policy board members agreed on the need to reduce what had been a high degree of expansionary monetary policy, the minutes said. They agreed that, to ensure the convergence of inflation to target, it would be necessary to continue stimulating the economy “for a long time, although with a lower intensity than the current one,” the minutes said. The bank has a 2021 inflation target range of 2% to 4%. The minutes noted that pockets of weakness persisted in some sectors and a significant degree of uncertainty. “In this context, the board evaluated two options: keep the rate at 0.5% or increase it by 25 basis points to 0.75%,” the minutes said. (Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Hugh Bronstein and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Alex Richardson and Edmund Blair) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. PAID PROMOTIONAL LINKS Promoted by Dianomi