Alonso Soto – Reuters, 08/29/2012
Brazil will likely lower its benchmark interest rate for the ninth straight time on Wednesday, to a record low of 7.50 percent, drawing a year-long rate-cutting campaign closer to an end as the world’s No. 6 economy starts to show signs of life.
All 42 analysts polled by Reuters expect the central bank to slash the so-called Selic rate by half a percentage point as policymakers keep up efforts to bolster a slow-moving economy.
Those efforts seem to be paying off as retail sales and economic activity data jumped unexpectedly in June, raising hopes for a stronger recovery following a flurry of government stimulus measures like tax breaks.
