IPCA-15
Inflation preview drops to 0.35% in May, but hits the month's record over the last 3 years
May 24, 2019 09h00 AM | Last Updated: May 24, 2019 10h04 AM
Transportation and health products were the highlights in the Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) of May, which increased 0.35%. This rate was quite below the April index (0.72%), although it was bigger for the month of May since 2016, when the inflation preview reached 0.86%.
The group health and personal care had a high of 1.01% in May, mainly driven by medicines (2.03%). Health insurance plans (0.80%) and personal hygiene items (0.62%) also pushed the index. As a whole, the group as responsible for 0.12 percentage points (pp) of May IPCA-15.
Transportation also contributed with 0.12 pp to the inflation preview. The 3.29% increase in gasoline took the index up, as well as the rise of 4% in ethanol prices. Conversely, airfares had decrease of 21.78% and were responsible for the sharpest negative impact on the index, of -0.09 pp.
The group with the highest weight on the families' budget also helped decelerate the IPCA-15. Accounting for nearly 25% of home expenses in the country, food and beverage held steady in May, after the 0.92% increase in April. Although food away increased 0.48%, food at home dropped 0.26%. The most significant drops were in carioca beans (-11.55%), fruits (-3.08%) and meat (-0.52%) and the main items on the rise were tomatoes (13.08%) and potatoes (4.12%).
Prices in eight of the 11 areas surveyed by the IPCA-15 slowed in May. The Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro had the lowest index and the only deflation of 0.06%. The highest result was in Goiânia, with a high of 1.10%.
In May, the IPCA-15 accumulates ad high of 2.27% in the year and of 4.93% in the last12 months.
