SAO PAULO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, saw 4.62 percent inflation in 2023, the lowest rate since 2020, the state-run Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Thursday.

       The National Broad Consumer Price Index, the main inflation indicator, registered below the inflation target ceiling of 4.75 percent set by the Central Bank of Brazil at the beginning of last year. The target rate was 3.25 percent with a margin of tolerance of 1.5 percentage points.

       In 2023, the first year of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's third term, the inflation rate turned out to be the lowest in three years, after registering 10.06 percent in 2021 and 5.79 percent in 2022.

       According to the IBGE, inflation in 2023 was mainly driven by transportation costs (7.14 percent), followed by healthcare and personal care (6.58 percent), and housing (5.06 percent).

       The category that influences the inflation index most, food and beverage, rose by 1.03 percent last year.

       In 2023, greater supply, thanks to growth in agricultural production, helped to curb food prices.