Brazil inflation likely stayed high in July, but some signs of deceleration

By Gabriel Burin

(Reuters) -Brazil’s inflation probably stayed high in July but with some deceleration in underlying trends, a Reuters poll of economists suggested.

Policymakers are waiting for a cooling in consumer prices to launch a series of interest rate cuts to boost economic activity before next year’s presidential election.

Monthly inflation likely sped up to 0.37% in July from 0.24% in June, according to the median estimate of 23 economists polled August 6-11 ahead of the release of official data on Tuesday.

The increase came from a hike in energy bills that more than offset a second consecutive month of deflation in food and beverages, already reflected in biweekly figures.

Costs of beef, rice and other staples fell slightly in July, partly due to product seasonality after a