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The inner shelf circulation on the Abrolhos Bank is investigated using four years (2002–2005) of moored current and bottom pressure observations from two sites in conjunction with wind data from a nearby meteorological station. This is one of the longest projects monitoring current and sea level along the Brazilian coast. The time variability of the local circulation and main forcings are described. For the first time, both the seasonal and the interannual variabilities are addressed, as are the impact of remote forcing. The cross-shore pressure gradient in the region is mostly set up by along-shore winds, whereas the sub-inertial cross-shore momentum balance is essentially geostrophic, with smaller contributions from the cross-shore wind stress. The along-shelf momentum balance is ageostrophic and mainly occurs between the wind and bottom stresses. South-southwestward along-shore currents occur between …