Brazil's central bank to pursue inflation target regardless of leadership change
Adds context in paragraphs 3 and 4, further comments in paragraphs 5 and 6
BRASILIA, Aug 12 (Reuters) -Brazil's central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said on Monday that policymakers will do whatever is necessary to bring inflation to the target level, regardless of who becomes the next head of the monetary authority.
Speaking at an event hosted by FGV, he reinforced concerns about inflation expectations drifting away from the official target, but said the central bank has been doing what it can do to alleviate these concerns, demonstrating its "technical and cohesive team".
Appointed to the role by former president Jair Bolsonaro, Campos Neto's term expires at the end of this year, after which he will be replaced by a nominee chosen by current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Lula has targeted him with harsh criticism and has argued the current level of interest rates is too high.
"We had a consensus message that the central bank will do whatever is necessary to bring inflation to the target, regardless of who the president is," Campos Neto said. "This is well established within the group we have today."
Despite acknowledging that the government has made significant efforts to demonstrate a commitment to balancing the public accounts, he added that Brazil "really needs to make an extra effort, looking at the medium term, to ensure people believe we will achieve a debt convergence."
His remarks add to the tougher signals given by the monetary authority since it decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 10.5% at the end of July, emphasizing that it would be open to raising rates if necessary.
Monetary policy director Gabriel Galipolo, widely seen as the frontrunner to succeed Campos Neto, stressed last week that the current scenario is uncomfortable for achieving the central target of 3% inflation, with inflationary risks tilted to the upside.
Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by David Holmes
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