Brazil consumer prices rise less than expected in September

Consumer prices in South America's largest economy rose by less than expected as transport and food price inflation fell back slightly.

The mid-month IPCA-15 consumer price index increased by 0.2% month-on-month in September (consensus: 0.3%).

Versus a year-ago, prices were up by 8.8%, a decline from the 9.0% clip observed in August.

Housing prices pushed higher by 0.5% on the month, but prices for transportation services fell back by 0.1% and those for food prices dipped after several months of sharp advances, Andres Abadia, senior international economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a research note sent to clients.

Core consumer prices meanwhile were up by 0.4% over the month, after a rise of 0.5% in August.

"Inflation in Brazil continues to edge lower and we expect further declines in Q4 as the temporary shocks to food prices disappear. We remain cautious about the short-term inflation outlook, due to temporary pressures at the core level, but we still believe that inflation will decelerate towards 7% by the end of this year," Abadia said.

As of 1624 BST the US dollar was up by 0.19% to 3.2129 versus the Brazilian real.

The real hit a 52-week low of 3.1141 on 10 August 2016.