Brazil's inflation rate hit 0.75 percent in March, the fourth straight month of increases and the highest for the month since 2015 when it registered 1.32 percent, Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Wednesday.

According to an IBGE report, March's figure was up from the 0.43 percent registered in February 2019 and the 0.09 percent registered in March 2018.

During the first three months of this year, inflation increased a total of 1.51 percent, the highest for the period since the 2.62 percent recorded in 2016.

The cumulative rate for the past 12 months is 4.58 percent, exceeding the goal set by the Central Bank of 4.25 percent, although it is within the limit of tolerance of 1.5 points in either direction.

The increase in prices for March was influenced primarily by food (1.37 percent) and transportation (1.44 percent).

In 2018, Brazil saw an inflation rate of 3.75 percent, within the goal set by the government. The financial market foresees a price increase of 3.9 percent this year.