BRASILIA: On a monthly basis, the IPCA index rose 0.82%, up from an increase of 0.54% in September. A government-led increase in fuel prices that Petrobras recently implemented was responsible for about a third of the month’s inflation, IBGE said.
Petrobras raised gasoline and diesel prices by 6% and 4%, respectively. Food prices also gained traction, led by rising costs for poultry, sugar and beverages. Brazil’s annual inflation is running at more than double official target of 4.5%, partly because of a string of tax and government-controlled price increases earlier in the year.
Accelerating inflation is also taking a toll on economic activity, as Brazil braces for its steepest recession in a quarter century. It has also reduced the probability of interest rate cuts by the central bank next year from the current 14.25%, economists anticipate.
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