Inflação
IPCA registers deflation of 0.04%, lowest figure for September since 1998
October 09, 2019 09h00 AM | Last Updated: October 09, 2019 11h48 AM
Brazil registered a deflation of 0.04% in September, the lowest figure for this month since 1998, when the index stayed at -0.22%. The drop was mainly pressed by the reduction of 0.43% in the prices of food and beverages, which fell for the second month in a row.
The data are from the Extended National Consumer Price Index - IPCA, released today by the IBGE. The cumulative rate in the year stayed at 2.49% and, in the last 12 months, at 2.89%.
Food away from home decelerated from 0.53% in August to 0.04% in September, due to the change of -0.04% in the item meals. The prices of food at home dropped 0.70%, highlighted by tomatoes (-16.17%), potatoes (-8.42%), onion (-9.89%) and fruits (-1.79%).
"The group of food and beverages had already dropped in August (-0.35%), which stepped up to -0.43%, pressed by the deceleration of food away from home associated with the drop of food at home, which fell for the fifth consecutive month", explained Pedro Kislanov, manager of the IPCA.
Household articles and communication also posted a deflation, of 0.76% and 0.01%, respectively. The drop in the prices of household articles was leveraged by the prices of household appliances and equipment (-2.26%) and of TV, sound and computers (-0.90%). Having risen 0.58%, health and personal care pressed the result upwards.
The group of housing decelerated from 1.19% in August to 0.02% in September. "Electricity, which weights a lot in housing, had increased 3.85% in August, due to the change of the flag from yellow to red level 1. Arriving in September, the electricity prices remained stable, causing this deceleration", commented the manager of the IPCA.
The price of transportation remained stable between August and September. In this group, fuels rose 0.12%, leveraged by the rises of ethanol (0.46%) and diesel fuel (2.56%). On the other hand, gasoline (-0.04%) registered a slight drop, less intense than in the previous month (-0.45%).
Ten places surveyed record deflation
Ten out of the 16 places surveyed by the IPCA recorded a deflation, highlighted by São Luís (-0.22%), due to the drop reported in electricity (-6.97%). Belo Horizonte (-0.18%), Brasília (-0.17%) and Rio de Janeiro (-0.13%) also posted sharp drops.
The highest positive change was in Goiânia (0.41%), mainly due to the rise in gasoline prices (2.80%).
