Brazil's central bank said that the options to raise interest rates by 25 basis points or maintain them were widely debated, according to minutes from its last policy meeting on Tuesday.

Most policymakers concluded that "given the data released, projections, inflation expectations, the balance of risks, and the lags of the effects of the monetary policy already in significantly contractionary territory, it was appropriate" to keep the benchmark Selic interest rate at 13.75%, according to the minutes of the September 20-21 meeting. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Steven Grattan)