The Selic rate is the Central Bank's main instrument for keeping official inflation under control, as measured by the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA).
Of the nine groups of products and services surveyed by IBGE, six saw an increase in prices. Chief among them was food and beverages, which rose by 0.63 percent—more than double the figure for October (0.31%).
The most significant pressures on prices were observed in the transportation and food and beverage sectors, according to the government´s statistic agency IBGE.
“We’re at a moment when we can make the economy grow, and we still have a lot of monetary fat to burn. We still have a [benchmark interest] rate of 12.25% [a year],” Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said at an event held by the BTG Pactual bank Monday.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Brazilian Central Bank expressed its intention to continue making further 0.5-point reductions in the upcoming meetings.