Brazil Inflation Slows In January, But 4.6% Annual Rate Remains High

• Monthly inflation in Brazil slowed in January as a sharp fall in electricity prices dragged down housing costs, official figures showed on Tuesday, but the annual rate of inflation remained high and significantly above the central bank’s year-end goal.
• It was the third month in a row the benchmark annual IPCA (consumer price index) consumer inflation rate has been above 4%, having more than doubled from the record low below 2% last May.
• The annual rate of 4.56% in January was slightly below the 4.61% median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, but the highest for any January since 2017, statistics agency IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). 

(Source: Reuters)