SAO PAULO, Oct 23 (Reuters) – Brazil’s IPCA-15 consumer price index rose 0.32% in the month to mid-October, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, down from 0.70% in the previous month and below the 0.43% increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
Prices in Latin America’s largest economy rose 4.62% in the 12 months through mid-October, IBGE added, up from 4.47% in the previous month but also below economists’ forecast of a 4.73% increase.
• Monthly rise driven by a 0.88% increase in food and beverage prices; personal expenses climbed 0.55%, while housing costs eased 0.1%
• Data published ahead of a tight presidential runoff between right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who led the first round, and leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
• Brazil’s central bank targets inflation at 3%, plus or minus 1.5 percentage points
• Policymakers will meet again on November 3-4 after delivering a fifth consecutive 25-basis-point interest rate cut last month to 13.75%
• The bank has kept its options open ahead of the November meeting while pointing to firmer signs of an economic slowdown
• Easing core inflation strengthens the case for further rate cuts, but the runoff is an important risk as fiscal credibility remains a concern, said Pantheon Macroeconomics chief Latin America economist Andres Abadia
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Isabel Teles)
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