- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Brazil February inflation rate hits seven-year high
Brazil's inflation rate hit a seven-year high for the month of February, the government said Friday, as hefty fuel-price hikes took effect that will only exacerbate surging prices, a sore spot for President Jair Bolsonaro.
The monthly inflation rate for February in Latin America's biggest economy came in at 1.01 percent compared to January. This was the highest for the month of February since 2015, said national statistics institute IBGE.
The annual inflation rate rose 0.16 point to 10.54 percent, it said.
That remains far above the central bank's target of 3.5 percent, defying the bank's efforts to rein in prices with one of the most aggressive series of interest-rate hikes in the world.
With the Russia-Ukraine war now pushing prices even higher worldwide, Brazil's inflation problem is only expected to get worse -- especially after state-run oil company Petrobras announced it would hike gasoline prices by 19 percent and diesel by 25 percent from Friday over the fallout of the Ukraine crisis.
"Higher fuel prices are likely to push the headline (inflation) rate up even further in March, to above 11 percent," William Jackson, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
"While the central bank's monetary policy committee hinted at its last meeting that the tightening cycle was nearing an end, the worsening inflation outlook is likely to keep it in a hawkish mood."
Brazil's central bank has raised the key interest rate from an all-time low of two percent in March 2021 to 10.75 percent currently.
But the massive hikes have yet to bring down soaring prices, which are hurting Brazilians' wallets and Bolsonaro's popularity as he fights an uphill battle to win reelection in October against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his likely opponent, who currently leads in the polls.
L.K.Baumgartner--CPN