BRASILIA, Dec 23 Reuters -- Brazil's IPCA 15 consumer price index increased by 0.78% in the month to mid-December, but it is still reaching its highest December reading in six years, as the country struggles with persistent inflation, statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday.
In mid-December, the annual inflation rate stood at 10.42%, a better than the median forecast of 10.45%, but far above the central bank's year-end target for consumer price inflation of 3.75%.
The month's rise was a little less than expectations of 0.8% in a poll of economists, slowing down from a 1.17% increase in November.
In seven of the nine groups of goods and services covered, prices went up, according to IBGE. Transport, which ended the year with a 21.35% surge, had the biggest impact, mainly due to higher fuel prices.
The central bank acknowledged that inflation is more persistent than anticipated, with price increases spread among several components. Its president Roberto Campos Neto said the country's monetary tightening cycle - among the most aggressive in the world - may have a longer time to go.
The central bank has doubled its benchmark interest rate to 9.25% from 2% this year and has already signaled another 150 basis point hike in February.