Brasília, December 3, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Antônio Palocci, coordinator of the president-elect's transition team, affirmed today that one should work with feasible inflation targets. "We need to have as our goal a reduction of the inflationary process," he observed. In his view, this does not mean that the future target (4% for 2003, with a margin of 2.5% either way) is low. "Whether it is adequate or not must always be calculated with great calm and accuracy," he said.

Palocci also stated that "nothing confirms that there are significant elements in the inflationary rebound, besides the rise in the dollar through October." He reiterated that the new administration is not going to freeze or control prices or adopt unorthodox measures to control inflation, because he believes that the market and the economy should regulate themselves. (DAS)