Brazil's real little changed.

Brazil's real was little changed after a report showed inflation slowed for the first time in four months, easing speculation the central bank will increase interest rates in the next several months.
The benchmark IPCA index of consumer prices decreased to 0.54 per cent last month from 0.74 per cent in December. The median prognosis of 29 economists asked by Bloomberg News was for a reading of 0.60 percent.
``The pace of inflation has been a concern for the past months, so the result in January is positive,'' said currency trading manager at Treviso Corretora de Cambio. ``Nobody feels very comfortable investing in a country where inflation is out of control.''
The real was little changed at 1.7487 reals per dollar at 7:49 a.m. New York time, compared with 1.7495 yesterday.
Futures contracts show traders are predictinging the Brazilian central bank will cut borrowing costs this year. The yield on the interbank deposits future rate contract due in January 2009, the most actively traded contract of its kind on Brazil's Commodities and Futures Exchange, was 11.72 percent today, compared with 11.83 percent yesterday.
The central bank kept the lending rate at 11.25 per cent on Jan. 23 for a third straight meeting.
The yield on Brazil's zero-coupon bond due in January 2009 fell 7 basis points, or 0.07 percentage point, to 11.82 percent, according to Banco Votorantim SA.