Brazil 2013 Inflation Exceeds All Estimates and 2012 Level

Brazil’s consumer prices in 2013 exceeded every analyst estimate and accelerated from last year, boosting pressure on the central bank to extend the world’s biggest cycle of raising interest rates. Swap rates increased.

Inflation in the year through December as measured by the benchmark IPCA index accelerated to 5.91 percent from 5.84 percent in 2012, the national statistics agency said today in Rio de Janeiro. That was higher than all estimates from 34 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, whose median forecast was for 5.81 percent. Monthly inflation accelerated to 0.92 percent from 0.54 percent in November, also higher than all forecasts and the fastest increase in more than 10 years.