Brazil's Finance Ministry slightly raised its inflation forecast for this year after factoring in an average oil price now expected to be 10.8% higher than previously estimated due to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. The projections were released ahead of the entral bank's monetary policy meeting next week, as intense oil price volatility and its potential impact on inflation cloud market bets on whether policymakers will begin an anticipated easing cycle with a 25- or 50-basis-point interest rate cut.