RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's July inflation rate was at 0.33 percent, nearly a percentage point less than the previous month, which suffered from the aftermath of a truckers' strike, the Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said on Wednesday.

The year-to-date inflation rate was 2.94 percent. The inflation rate for the 12 months ending in July was 4.48 percent, higher than the 4.39 percent registered during the same period the year before.

July's inflation rate was also higher than July 2017, which was 0.24 percent.

The Central Bank had set an inflation goal of 4.5 percent with a margin of tolerance of 1.5 points, allowing for inflation to be between 3 and 6 percent.

In 2017, Brazil's annual inflation rate was 2.95 percent -- the first time it was below the set minimum of 3 percent. It was also the lowest since 1998, when the inflation rate registered 1.65 percent.

The financial sector expects the year to close with an inflation rate of 4.11 percent.

According to IBGE, costs related to housing and transportation rose by 1.54 and 0.49 percent, respectively, and were largely responsible for maintaining inflation in July.

Prices for food, clothing and education decreased in July, slowing the inflation rate compared to June.