Brazil’s industrial output unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in December. Output in December fell 0.7% from November after a 0.2% decline in the previous month, the national statistics agency IBGE said this week.
Brazilian economists raised their forecast for inflation this year for the tenth consecutive week, as food costs pressure consumer prices further beyond the government’s target.
Central Bank of Brazil increased on Wednesday the benchmark interest rate for the first time in 19 months in an effort to cool an economy forecast to expand 6% this year, one of the highest rates in two decades.
Brazil’s next government will need to be “very serious” about keeping inflation within its target range so real interest rates can continue to fall, Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said.