Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (4130)	2/9/2006 1:05:39 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 217774

UPDATE 2-Brazil inflation speeds up, fastest pace in 3 mos Thu Feb 9, 2006 9:23 AM ET Printer Friendly \| Email Article \| Reprints \| RSS (Page 1 of 2) (Recasts, adds details, comments) By Todd Benson SAO PAULO, Brazil, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Inflation in Brazil accelerated in January at its fastest pace in three months as fuel prices soared, but economists said the increase was unlikely to stop the central bank from cutting interest rates aggressively again next month. The IPCA consumer price index, which is used by the central bank as a guide when setting interest rates, rose 0.59 percent in January after climbing 0.36 percent in December and 0.55 percent in November, the government's statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday. The increase was slightly higher than expected. Ten economists polled by Reuters predicted, on average, that the index would rise 0.55 percent last month. Forecasts ranged from an increase of 0.53 percent to 0.57 percent. The IBGE said seasonal factors such as an increase in ethanol prices were largely responsible for driving the IPCA higher last month. Ethanol made from sugar cane is widely used as a fuel for automobiles in Brazil. Ethanol prices, which tend to rise in January between cane harvests, shot up 9.87 percent last month after rising 4.53 percent in December. The cost of gasoline, which is mixed with ethanol in Brazil, advanced 1.19 percent. Bus fares, which are typically increased at the beginning of the year, also put pressure on the IPCA. They rose 1.82 percent in January, while health insurance costs climbed 1.89 percent after an annual increase. Core inflation, which excludes and smooths out big price changes, rose 0.61 percent in January, according to economists' calculations. Even though the index surprised on the upside in January, most economists said they expect the pace of inflation to ease in the coming months, giving the central bank leeway to keep lowering interest rates. The increase "was more than expected, but not enough to alter my expectations for the next Copom meeting," said Vladimir Caramaschi, chief economist at the Sao Paulo brokerage Fator, using the Portuguese acronym for the central bank's monetary policy committee. Caramaschi said he still expects the bank to lower its benchmark lending rate by 0.75 percentage points at its next policy meeting on March 7-8, to 16.5 percent. That would be the sixth straight rate cut since September. Continued ... © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. today.reuters.com