Tombini makes his mark

The minutes from this month’s meeting of the Brazilian Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) were unequivocally hawkish and should banish any lingering concerns about a shift in policy priorities under the BCB’s new Governor, Alexandre Tombini. In the Committee’s view the risks to inflation lie to the upside, even if fiscal policy is tightened and credit growth slows. This is a demonstration of intent by Mr. Tombini. But with political pressure to resist further currency appreciation growing, winning the inflation battle will become increasingly difficult.