Brazil's economic activity again surprised on the upside in August, central bank data showed on Monday, reinforcing a view of heated economic momentum that prompted policymakers to kick off a monetary tightening cycle last month. Members of the bank's interest rate-setting committee have mentioned stronger-than-expected activity as a key reason behind the move as it has impacted inflation expectations and consumer price readings, which remain above target. The IBC-Br index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in August from the previous month, while economists polled by Reuters had forecast a flat reading. The index based on proxies for output volume in agriculture, industry and services, as well as tax data on production, was also up 3.1% compared to August 2023 and 2.5% over the previous 12 months on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.