BRASILIA: Inflationary pressures rose in Brazil on February with price increases hitting an annual rate of 7.7 percent, the highest in nearly nine years, officials said Friday.
South America's largest economy is also struggling with sluggish growth and a corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras so the uptick on the inflation front was unwelcome news.
The national statistical institute IBGE said prices rose 1.22 percent in February, pushing inflation well above the government's target ceiling of 6.5 percent.
"Over the past 12 months the figure is 7.7 percent, the highest since May 2005, which reached 8.05 percent," said IBGE.
The figures highlighted the spiraling cost of education, transport and housing.
Prices rose 6.41 percent across 2014, the highest annual figure since 2011, and the latest data show the trend continuing apace.
Already for January and February the cumulative rise is 2.48 percent -- double last year's figure for the first two months.
Brazil's central bank Wednesday again raised its key interest rate, by 0.5 points to 12.75 percent amid forecasts for feeble growth through this year.
Finance Minister Joaquim Levy expects official figures due later this month to show GDP was in negative territory last year.
Analysts predict a 0.58 contraction.
Brazil's leftist President Dilma Rousseff, saddled with a burgeoning corruption scandal at Petrobras since her re-election in October, has responded to the downturn with budget cuts while promising to protect social programs for the working class, bedrock of support for her Workers Party.
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