Brazil Retail Sales March 2008

Brazil's retail sales rose 11.4 percent in March, capping the strongest quarter on record, as a credit and investment boom fuels what is Latin America's largest economy. The March gain was led by computer and office equipment sales, the national statistics agency said today in Rio de Janeiro. That put the quarterly expansion at 12 percent, the most since the agency began records in 2000.



Policy makers last month raised the overnight rate a half- point to 11.75 to rein in inflation. Economists are predicting the central bank will increase lending rates further to 13.25 by year end, according to the median forecast in a central bank survey of 100 financial institutions published this week.

Brazilian consumer prices rose 0.55 percent in April, the most in 2008 to date. The annual rate of inflation was 5.04 percent last month, above the mid-point of the central bank's target of 4.5 percent target plus or minus 2 percentage points.