Brazil 2022 Inflation Slows sharply

Brazil’s inflation ended in 2022 with a sharp slowdown from double-digit peaks seen throughout the year.

This is on the back of government measures and an aggressive monetary tightening, but once again missed the official target set by the government.

“The benchmark IPCA consumer price index rose 5.79% last year,” statistics agency IBGE said on Monday.

The result missed both the central bank’s annual target of 3.5% and the top 5% of its tolerance band, marking the second straight year of noncompliance. By law, the Central Bank Governor, Roberto Campos Neto will have to publish a letter justifying why it happened.

The index was up 0.62% in December alone, IBGE said, above the 0.45% forecast in a Reuters poll, mostly driven by higher prices in health and personal care items.

Reuters/ Mercy Chukwudiebere