Inflation in Brazil's Sao Paulo up 0.39 percent in October

SAO PAULO: Consumer prices in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest metropolitan area, accelerated in October, fueled by higher costs in sectors including housing and food, a research body said on Thursday.

The IPC-FIPE index rose 0.39 percent last month compared with an increase of 0.25 percent in September, according to a report by the FIPE economic research institute.

The index was expected to climb 0.38 percent, according to the median forecast of 10 analysts surveyed by Reuters. Estimates for the expected increase ranged from 0.2 to 0.39 percent.

Among the categories tracked, prices for food, personal care and housing costs rose the most. But prices for clothing, education and transportation all dropped from the previous month.

Economists watch the FIPE index closely as a pointer to trends in Brazil's benchmark IPCA inflation index, used by the central bank as a guide when setting interest rates.

While annual IPCA inflation has sped above a 6.5 percent government target ceiling since April, the bank has nonetheless cut a full percentage point off its benchmark rate since August on worries of a global economic slowdown.

Local analysts expect the central bank to cut the Selic lending rate to 11 percent from 11.5 percent in November at policymakers' last meeting of the year, according to a weekly central bank survey.

Copyright Reuters, 2011