SAO PAULO: Brazil's annual inflation rate slowed more than expected in mid-December, the official statistics agency said on Wednesday, approaching the top end of the government's target and paving the way for further interest rate cuts by the central bank.
Brazil's IPCA-15 consumer price index rose 6.58 percent in the 12 months through mid-December, down from an increase of 7.64 percent in mid-November and close to the 6.5 percent ceiling of the government's target, IBGE said.
The index had been expected to rise 6.71 percent, according to the median forecast of 22 economists in a Reuters poll.
Consumer prices rose 0.19 percent in the month to mid-December, down from an increase of 0.26 in mid-November.
Yields on interest rate futures fell after the IPCA-15 release as traders added bets on a long cycle of interest rate cuts. Economists have expected the central bank to accelerate the pace of monetary easing in its next meeting in January, which could help lift the economy out of a deep recession.
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