SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Consumer prices in Brazil rose slightly less than expected in September but accelerated from the previous month due to higher electricity costs, government statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday.
Prices as measured by benchmark inflation index IPCA rose 0.44% in September, nearly in line with the 0.46% increase expected by markets but well above the 0.02% fall seen in August.
In the 12 months through September, consumer prices in Latin America’s largest economy were up 4.42%. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting an increase of 4.43%.
According to IBGE, the inflation figures were boosted by a 5.36% jump in residential electricity prices as Brazil faces a major drought, impacting power costs since more than half of country’s supply comes from hydroelectric plants.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told reporters that the fresh IPCA data clearly showed that the drought is affecting energy and food prices, but added that core inflation was “under control.”
(Reporting by Luana Maria Benedito; Editing by Gabriel Araujo)
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