The Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) of February was 0.86% - up 0.61 percentage points over January (0.25%). It was the highest February result since 2016, when the IPCA reached 0,90%. In the year, the index accrues high of 1.11% and, in 12 months, of 5.20%, above the 4.56% of the 12 previous months. In February 2020, the change was of 0.25%.

Of the nine groups of products and services surveyed, eight had a high in February. the greatest impact on the monthly index (0.45 pp) came from Transportation (2.48%) and the greatest change, from Education (2.48%). The two groups together account for nearly 70% of this month result. Next are Health and personal care (0.62%) whose impact was of 0.08 pp. The group Food and beverages (0.27% of change and 0.06 pp of contribution) decelerated over January (1.02%). Housing, which had decreased 1.07% in January, rose 0.40%, contributing also with 0.06 pp to the result of February. The other groups stood between the 0.13% drop in Communication and the 0.66% high in Household articles.

The result of Transportation (2.28%) was influenced by the high in fuel prices (7.09%). Gasoline (7.11%), individually, contribute with 0.36pp or nearly 42% of the index of the month. In addition, the prices of ethanol (8.06%), diesel fuel (5.40%) and of vehicular gas also increased. With February results, the item fuels accumulates a high of 28.44% in the last nine months.

Also in Transportation, the highlights are the highs of new (0.55%) and used cars (0.71%) and of tires (1.26%). The positive change in urban bus (0.33) is due to the increases of 8.70% in Recife (6.38%) since February 7, and of 2.61% in Vitória (1.03%) in force since January 10. The high in the subitem train is a consequence of the 6.38% increase in the tickets in Rio de Janeiro (1.49%) effective since February 23.

In the group Education (2.48%), the highest impact (0.14 pp) came from regular courses (3.08%). The result reflects, to a great extent, the increases normally occurred at the beginning of the school year. Besides, the discounts some institutions gave in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic were off. The biggest changes came from pre-school (6.37%), primary school (4.92%) and secondary school (4.45%) %), and the smallest, from higher education (0.94%) and technical courses (0.91%).

In Health and personal care (0.62), the highlight was the item personal hygiene (1.07%), which contributed with 0.04 pp to the index of the month. Next came health insurance plan (0.67%) and pharmaceuticals (0.27%).

The group Food and beverages (0.27%) decelerated for the third month in a row. In November, December and January, the rates had been 2.54%, 1.74% and 1.02%, respectively. In food at home (0.28%), the deceleration was due to the falls of potatoes (-14.70%), tomatoes ( -8.55%), long life milk (-3.30%), soybean oil (-3.15%) and rice (-1.52%).  On the other hand, the prices of onions (15.59%) are on the rise and beef, which had decreased by 0.08% in January, rose 1.72% in February.

Food away from home also slowed down (from 0.91% in January to 0.27% in February), especially because of snacks (0.11%), whose change in the previous month had been 1.83%.

In Housing, the biggest contribution (0.03 pp) came from bottled gas (2.98%), whose prices increased by the ninth consecutive month. Besides, piped gas (2.68% also recorded increase, a consequence of the prise rises of 8.07% and 15.57% in Curitiba (14.71%), of 3.50% in Rio de Janeiro (3.18%) and of 0,79 in São Paulo (0.42%).

Also in  Housing , there is a change of 1.02% in  water and sewage fee , due to increases in five areas covered by the index:  Fortaleza (which changed by 12.24% and had a rise of 12.25%), Aracaju (4.84%, with a rise of 5.36%), Curitiba (4.09%, with a rise of 5.11%), Campo Grande (3.65%, with a 4.77% increase) and Recife (0.31%, with a 2.40% increase).

The most intense negative contribution (-0.03 p.p.) in the Housing group came from electricity (-0.71%). In February, the yellow flag was maintained, adding R$ 1,343 to the electricity bill for every 100 kilowatt hours consumed. It is worth mentioning that at the end of December, the beginning of the base period for the IPCA in February, the red flag level 2 was still in effect, with an increase of R$ 6.243. The areas showed changes in the item, which ranged from -4.46% in Campo Grande, whose decrease is due to the reduction in the PIS/COFINS rate, up to 0.37% in Vitória.

All sixteen areas surveyed showed positive change. The greatest result was in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza (1.48%), especially due to the 8.86% increase in regular courses. The lowest index was registered in Rio de Janeiro (0.38%), due to the 10.73% drop in airfare and 16.50% in transportation by application.

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of 01 to 40 minimum wages, whatever the source, and it encompasses ten Metropolitan Areas in the country, besides Brasília and the municipalities of Goiânia, Campo Grande, Rio Branco, São Luís, Aracaju and Brasília.

In order to measure the index of the month the prices collected from January 29 to March 1 of 2021 (reference) were compared with the ones in force from December 30 to 2020 to January 28, 2021 (base). It is worth mentioning that, due to the public health emergency situation caused by COVID-19, on March 18, 2020, IBGE suspended face-to-face price collection at the places of purchase. From that date, prices began being collected by other means, such as surveys carried out on internet websites, by telephone or by e-mail.

In February, INPC changed 0.82%

The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) of February posted a change of 0.82%, whereas in January it had been 0.27%. It was the highest result for a month of February since 2016 (0.95%). In the year, the index accumulates high of 1.09% and in the last 12 months, above the 5.53% recorded over the 12 months prior to that period. In February 2020, the rate was at 0.17%.

Food products rose 0.17% in February while, in the previous month, they had registered 1.01%. Non-food products followed the opposite trend: after the 0.03% increase in January, they changed 1.03% in February.

All the areas investigated by the survey had positive change in the month. The highest index was observed in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza (1.52%), mainly due to the increase in regular courses (9.66%). The lowest result occurred in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro (0.35%), influenced by the fall in the price of wearing apparel (-1.52%) and electricity (-0.63%). 

INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1979. It refers to families with monthly income of one to six minimum wages, with a salaried head of the family, and it encompasses ten Metropolitan Areas in the country, besides Brasília and the municipalities of Goiânia, Campo Grande, Rio Branco, São Luís, Aracaju and Brasília.

In order to measure the index of the month the prices collected from January 29 to March 1 of 2021 (reference) were compared with the ones in force from December 30, 2020 to January 28, 2021 (base).