The Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) changed 0.21% in April, 0.11 percentage points (pp) above March's rate (0.10%). That was the lowest rate for a month of April since 2006, when the index recorded 0.17%. In the year, the cumulative change was of 1.08% - the lowest level for the January-April period since the implantation of the Plano Real. The cumulative index over the last 12 months remained at 2.80%, just as the prior 12-period's result. The support material of this survey is on the left of the page.

Of the nine groups of products and services surveyed, only Communication (-0.15%) presented a price decrease from March to April. The others were between the 0.02% of Education and the 0.69% of Health and personal care, which, in addition to registering the greatest group change, also recorded the highest impact (0.08 pp).

The drop of 0.15% in the Communication group was influenced by the item landline telephone (-0.45%), due to the reduction in the fare of local and long-distance calls from landline to mobile telephones, in force since February 25.

On the side of the highs, except for Personal Expenses (from 0.12% in March to 0.06% in April) and Education (from 0.25% in March to 0.02% in April), there was acceleration in the price changes.

In the group Health and personal care (0.69%), the pressure was exerted by health insurance plan (1.06%) and by medicine (0.63%), reflecting part of the annual increase, in force since March 31, changing between 2.09% and 2.84%, depending on the type of medicine.

The group Food and beverages moved from the 0.07% recorded in March to the 0.15% in April. This dynamic was influenced, mostly, by fruits, which became, on average, 6.07% more expensive and were the individual impact on the index of the month (0.06 pp). In addition, other items also had price increase, as long-life milk (4.92%) and meal away (0.73%). Others came from meat (-1.03%), tomatoes (-6.85%) and whole chicken (-3.23%). The areas ranged from -0.58% in Fortaleza to 0.81% in Brasília. Food at home recorded decrease of 0.05%, whereas food away recorded a high of 0.49%.

In the group Housing (0.26%), the highlight was the item electricity (1.45%), influenced, mostly, by Rio de Janeiro, whose 10.20% change reflects the increases of 9.09% and 21.46% in the tariffs of the concessionaires, in force since March 15.

The high of Wearing Apparel (0.43%) was leveraged by the items women clothing (0.62%) and kids wear (0.96%).

In Transportation (0.12%), the result comprises the 0.85% change in the item car repair and 0.35% in urban bus, reflecting the 6.17% increases in the fares in Porto Alegre (5.39%), in effect since March 13 and part of the 6.45% increase in Belém (0.92%), in force since February 20. Also in Transportation, the airfares were down 2.69%, a less intense change than that of March (-15.33%).

As to the indexes by area, just the Metropolitan Area of  Pernambuco (-0.07%) and the municipality of Goiânia (-0.10%) recorded deflation in the MoM rate. The other areas stood between 0.09% (Metropolitan Area of Salvador) and 0.43% (Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro).

In Rio de Janeiro, the high was influenced by electricity, which got 10.20% more expensive due to the adjustments of 9.09% and 21.46% in the tariffs of the concessionaires, in force since March 15. The item health insurance plan also stood out, with a high of 1.07%.

In Goiânia (-0.10%), the area with the least change, the highlights were tomatoes, with a 15.25% decrease and electricity (-1.19%). The results by area can be found in the table below.

In order to estimate IPCA-15, prices were collected from March 16 to April 13 of 2018 (reference) and compared with those in effect from February 16 to March 15 of 2018 (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, as well as Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology is the same as the one used for the IPCA; the difference lies in the period of price collection and in the geographic coverage.