Brazil's inflation rate remained unchanged for the second consecutive month in July, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Friday.
Brazil's National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), the country's official inflation indicator, was up 0.01 percent in July, from zero in June or 0.24 percent in the same period in 2009.
The figures were the lowest registered in the month of July since 1999, said the IBGE.
Food products registered a deflation of 0.76 percent in July, from a deflation of 0.9 percent in June. While the price of non-food products were up 0.24 percent, from 0.27 percent in June.
From the January to July, Brazil accumulated an inflation rate of 3.1 percent, from 2.81 percent in the same period last year. In the August 2009 to July 2010 period, the IPCA dropped to 4.6 percent from 4.84 percent in the previous 12-month period.
According to the IBGE, it was the third consecutive decrease in the accumulated indicator. Brazil's inflation rate is slowly getting closer to goverment's target of 4.5 percent for the year.
To cut down the inflation rate, the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) has increased the annual basic interest rate several times from 8.75 percent at the beginning of the year to 10.75 percent now.
The Copom will meet on Aug. 31 and Sep. 1 to discuss measures to keep the Selic rate, the overnight lending rate of Brazil's Central Bank, at 11.75 percent by the end of 2010./.