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Brazilian inflation up again
Consumer prices rose more than expected in Brazil in the month to mid-September. The benchmark price index rose 0.53 per cent, the national statistics agency said yesterday, led by rising food prices. That was faster than the 0.27 per cent rise in August. Analysts warned that the uptick in prices underscored the riskiness of the central bank’s cut of its benchmark interest rate to 12 per cent from 12.5 per cent last month despite above-target inflation. “This naturally hurts the central bank’s credibility,” said Flavio Serrano, an economist with Espirito Santo investment bank. “You can’t know for sure how monetary policy is being carried out.”