Monetary Policy Surprises and the Brazilian Term Structure of Interest Rates

This paper examines the information content of COPOM decisions to change or to leave unchanged monetary policy by estimating the responses of the term structure to changes in the target for interest rates on COPOM meeting days. Within an event-study approach the evidence suggests that market participants anticipate, at least partially, monetary policy actions. Furthermore, it is found that the introduction of the floating exchange and inflation-targeting regime has had a dampening effect on interest rate surprises along the term structure.