SAO PAULO, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Consumer prices in Brazil rose less than expected in the 12 months through October but remained above the central bank’s target range, as policymakers vow to keep using high interest rates to rein in persistent inflation.
Annual inflation in Latin America’s largest economy reached 4.63% last month, statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday, up from 4.58% in September but below the 4.73% expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
• Consumer prices were up 0.14% in October, slowing from 0.82% in September; economists had forecast a 0.25% rise
• Monthly inflation was driven by higher food and beverage prices (+1.04%), while transport (-0.59%) and housing (-0.51%) costs eased, IBGE said
• Brazil’s central bank targets annual inflation at 3%, plus or minus 1.5 percentage points
• The bank last week paused an easing cycle launched in March, holding its benchmark Selic rate at 13.75% as it grapples with a worsening inflation outlook
• “A return to monetary easing requires inflation to return to a downwards trend, which will probably occur from March, as well as fiscal reform to reduce risk premia,” said Capital Economics chief emerging markets economist William Jackson
• President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s reelection last month has fueled a weakening of the Brazilian real while pushing long-term interest rates and inflation forecasts higher
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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