Headline inflation in Brazil rose to 4.14% YoY in March from 3.81% in February, surprising expectations to the upside (see our chart pack for more details). Nevertheless, the CPI is still near the lowest levels in almost two years, down significantly from its peak of higher than 5.5% last year, and within the central bank’s target band of 3% +/- 1.5%. In addition, average core CPI fell marginally to 4.38% from 4.47% YoY, within the inflation target band. The key core services CPI series fell once again, to 5.3% from 5.5%.
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