Iron ore influences producer price index
November 29, 2017 09h00 AM | Last Updated: November 29, 2017 10h01 AM
The mining and quarrying industries had the highest price change between September and October, 9.41%. That's what the Producer Price Index (IPP), released today, reveals. The sector accumulates 10.17% in the year and has the greatest cumulative change in 12 months of industry's prices, 34.66%.
The positive change is especially due to iron ore extraction. "Recently, China closed steel industries that produced lower-quality steel, investing more in the production of a better alloy with a higher price", explains Manuel Campos, IBGE analyst: "That led to a generalized increase of steel prices in the world and, as a consequence, the raw-material became more expensive, which benefited the iron ore extraction in Brazil."
Another industrial sector that also had price rises due to changes provoked by the Chinese market was that of basic metals: 2.82% from September to October, accumulating 9.58% in the year and 16.10% in 12 months.
On the other hand, the food industry, which had a positive change of 0.86% in the comparison between October and September, accumulates -7.45% in the year and -7.04 in 12 months (the fifth negative change in a row in this kind of comparison). "Every year, food figures tend to be positive, but this year the sector has accumulated a negative change, which holds back the prices of semi- and non-durable consumer goods. The cumulative overall index over 12 months is at 4.41%, but were it not for food, it could have been above 6%. That is mostly due to the prices of the groups of soybeans and sugar, which had significant negative changes in the period", says Manuel Costa.
Text in Portuguese: Eduardo Peret
Graph: Marcelo Barroso
Image: Flickr Revista Dois Pontos
