Brazil's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) started on Tuesday its penultimate meeting of this year, in which it will decide whether to modify the country's annual basic interest rate (Selic).
Most economists expect the Copom to maintain the current 13.75 percent interest rate at least until the next meeting in December. Some experts say the rate should be reduced to stimulate consumption and fight the impact of the international financial crisis.
However, the Committee may decide to raise the Selic in hopes of halting the devaluation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar. Brazil's currency suffered a 30-percent devaluation since September. Its current exchange rate is 2.2 reais for a U.S. dollar.
The Selic was raised in the last four Copom meetings, which took place in April, June, July and September respectively. In so doing, the government had expected to halt the rise of the inflation rate.
Source: Xinhua
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