Monday, April 25, 2011

Brazil president 'immensely worried' about prices

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she is "immensely worried" about inflation near the top of the official target range and that the government will act to keep prices from rising further.

"We are immensely worried about inflation, and there's no situation under which the government would let its guard down when it comes to controlling inflation," Rousseff told reporters in Brasilia.

Inflation reached 6.44 percent in the year through mid-April, the most recent data available. The central bank's target range for inflation is 4.5 percent with a tolerance band of 2 percentage points.

The Brazilian central bank raised its Selic lending rate on Wednesday to 12 percent from 11.75 percent, a smaller hike than most economists had expected, in an effort to subdue rising prices.