IPCA
Inflation accelerates to 0.84% in February, leveraged by rise in Education
March 10, 2023 09h00 AM | Last Updated: March 10, 2023 03h59 PM
The Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) stayed at 0.84% in February. In the year, inflation accumulates a rise of 1.37% and, in the last 12 months, of 5.60%, below the rate of 5.77% registered in the immediately previous 12 months. In February 2022, the change had been 1.01%. The data were released today (10) by the IBGE.
The group of Education stood out in the February´s index, being responsible for the biggest impact (0.35 p.p.) and the highest change (6.28%). That is the highest rate since February 2004, when it changed 6.70%. It was followed by Health and personal care (1.26%) and Housing (0.82%), which accelerated in relation to January, contributing with 0.16 p.p. and 0.13 p.p., respectively. On the other hand, Transportation (0.37%) and Food and beverages (0.16%) recorded lower changes than those in the previous month. The other groups stood between 0.11% of Household articles and 0.98% of Communication.
“February is always very marked by education, because the adjustments practiced by education establishments in the turn of the year are computed this month. The rise in education is usually indexed on the IPCA itself, i.e., the adjustment of the tuitions is based on the inflation of the previous year,” explains Pedro Kislanov, manager of the survey.
The adjustments that usually occur in the beginning of the school year exerted a major weight on the rise registered in Education. Regular courses rose 7.58%, leveraged by the rises in secondary education (10.28%), primary education (10.06%), preschool education (9.58%) and daycare (7.20%). The sub-item primary education exerted the biggest individual impact on the month´s index (0.15 p.p.). The rises in higher education (5.22%), technical courses (4.11%) and postgraduate courses (3.44%) stood out as well.
Mainly influenced by the increase of 2.80% in the prices of items of personal hygiene, the group of Health and personal care changed 1.26%. After falling 5.86% in January, toiletries rose 7.50% and contributed with 0.08 p.p. to the month´s index. In addition, the prices of skincare products rose 4.54%, impacting 0.02 p.p. on the February´s IPCA. Health insurance plans (1.20%) impacted as well, as they continue to incorporate the monthly fractions of new and old plans related to the 2022-2023 cycle.
In the group of Housing (0.82%), the major contribution (0.05 p.p.) came from residential electricity (1.37%). The changes in the areas varied from -2.04% in Rio Branco, where PIS/COFINS reduced, to 6.98% in Belo Horizonte, where the tariffs of the transmission (TUST) and distribution (TUSD) systems were reintroduced in the calculation basis of the ICMS, as in other areas like Curitiba (5.94%) and Vitória (4.98%). The return of that additional charge was due to a recent decision of the Federal Superior Court.
Of the nine groups of products and services surveyed, only Wearing apparel recorded a negative change (-0.24%). The drops in men’s wearing apparel (-0.58%) and in women´s wearing apparel (-0.45%) leveraged that result. “That group has been continuously rising for a long time. Therefore, it is expected that the prices begin to reduce,” adds Kislanov.
In Transportation (0.37%), the major contribution (0.05 p.p.) came from gasoline (1.16%), which was the only fuel to rise in February. Ethanol (-1.03%), vehicular gas (-2.41%) and diesel fuel (-3.25%) reported drops above 1%. Having retreated 9.38%, the prices of airfare contributed to the deceleration of that group, compared with the month of January (0.55%).
The result of the group of Food and beverages, in turn, was influenced by the deceleration of food at home, which changed from 0.60% in January to 0.04% in February. The prices of meat (-1.22%) registered a more intense drop and the prices of potatoes (-11.57%) and tomatoes (-9.81%) retreated, though they had risen in the previous month (14.14% and 3.89%, respectively). On the other hand, the highlight was long-life milk (4.62%), whose prices returned to rise after six consecutive months of drops.
Concerning to the regional indexes, all the areas rose in February. The highest change was in Curitiba (1.09%), due to the rises in regular courses (5.97%), gasoline (3.37%) and residential electricity (5.94%). The lowest change was recorded in Rio Branco (0.44%), where residential electricity dropped 2,04%.
INPC rises 0.77% in February
The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) rose 0.77% in February, above the figure in the previous month (0.46%). In the year, the INPC accumulated a rise of 1.23% and, in the last 12 months, of 5.47%, below the rate of 5.71% registered in the 12 immediately previous months. In February 2022, the rate had been 1.00%.
More about the surveys
The IPCA encompasses households with earnings between 1 and 40 minimum wages, whereas the INPC, households with earnings between 1 and 5 minimum wages, living in the Metropolitan Areas of Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Vitória, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, as well as in the Federal District and in the municipalities of Goiânia, Campo Grande, Rio Branco, São Luís and Aracaju. Please access the data at Sidra.
