The Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) had a change of 0.35% in August – the second biggest result in the year, just behind February (0.54%), and well above the -0.18% of July. Thus, the result of the year went to 1.79%: the lowest cumulative change up to August, since the implementation of the Plano Real. In the same period a year ago, the rate had been 5.66%. Considering the last 12 months, the index shrank to 2.68%, below the 2.78% registered in the 12 previous months. It was  the  lowest cumulative change in 12-month periods since March 1999 (2.64%). In August of  2016, the rate was 0.45%. The complete data of IPCA-15 can be accessed here.

The groups Transportation (1.35%) and Housing (1.01%) presented the highest impacts on the monthly index: 0.24 percentage points (p.p.) and 0.15 p.p., respectively. Fuels (5.96%), which are part of the group Transportation, represented the greatest individual contribution in the month (0.28 p.p.). That was due to gasoline prices, which became, on average, 6.43% more expensive from one month to another, and to ethanol prices, rising 5.36%. Besides, the share of 16.61% was at last incorporated to the price rise of intercity buses in the Metropolitan Area of Belém (6.63%), in effect from April 7 on. Conversely, the drops were seen in airfares, with a decrease of 15.00%.

In the group Housing, the highlight stood with electricity (4.27%) due to the red flag in force since August 1st – considering the additional charge of R$0.03 for each kilowatt-hour consumed. Add to that the 5.15% increase, in force since July 4th, in one of the utilities in São Paulo (6.92%), and of 6.87% in Belém (6.42%) in effect from August 7 on.

Among the decreases, the group Food and beverages, which contributes with 25% to family expenditures, registered a change of 0.65%, exerting the highest negative impact, of -0.16 p.p. That was the third consecutive month of negative changes recorded by the group in the general average of prices. Apart from Brasília (0.02%) and Salvador (0.54%), the regions surveyed registered decrease, from -1.18% in the Metropolitan Area of Porto Alegre to -0.04% in Recife. 

Food bought for home consumption stood 1.17% cheaper. The prices of the majority of the products became lower from July to August, with a highlight to carioca beans (-13.89%), potatoes (-13.06%), long life milk (-3.86%), fruit (-2.43%) and meat (-1.37%). Onions and tomatoes stood out for their highs, with 14.28% and 14.03%, respectively. In Food away from home the average change was of 0.32%, with regions presenting results between the 0.99% drop registered in the Metropolitan Area of Belém up to the high of 1.63% in the Metropolitan Area of Salvador.

Among the other groups of products and services surveyed, the changes ranged between -0.32% of the group Communication and 0.73% of the group Health and personal care.

Concerning the regional indexes, just the Metropolitan Areas of Fortaleza (-0.02%) and of Rio de Janeiro (-0.16%) presented negative results. In Rio de Janeiro, the drop was leveraged by meat (-5.85%) and by airfares, on average, 18.95% cheaper. Among the highs, the highlight was the Metropolitan Area of Salvador (0.59%), where fuels (13.28%) stood out with the prices of gasoline up, on average, 15.67% and those of ethanol up 8.24%.

In order to measure the index of the month the prices collected from July 14 to August 15 of 2017 (reference) were compared with the ones in effect from June 14 to July 13 of 2017 (base). The indicator refers to families with monthly income of 1 to 40 minimum wages and it encompasses the Metropolitan Areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador, Curitiba, and also Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology is the same as the one used for IPCA; the difference lies in the period of price collection and in the geographic coverage.