Brazil’s IPCA consumer price index accelerated in mid-October as food and other personal costs rose early in the month, the IBGE statistics institute reported. The IBGE said its IPCA-15 inflation measurement accelerated 0.48% in the period, from a 0.39% advance seen through mid September. With the latest reading, 12-month inflation has reached 6.62%, topping the 6.5% upper limit of the government’s official inflation targeting band. The IBGE reported that food costs accelerated to 0.69% during the month from 0.28% through mid-September, while clothing rose to 0.70% from 0.17% and housing costs increase to 0.80% from 0.70%. Transportation and education costs, however, both declined in the period. According to the latest central bank weekly market survey, Brazil’s IPCA inflation is seen ending 2014 at 6.45% and declining slightly to 6.30% in 2015. Brazil’s central bank raised the country’s base Selic interest rate by more than 3 percentage points to 11% last year in an effort to curb inflation, but halted the rate tightening cycle in March ahead of the start of the country’s presidential election campaigns. Brazilian voters are scheduled to vote in a runoff election between incumbent president Dilma Rousseff and challenger Aécio Neves on Oct. 26.