The Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) changed by 0.45% in August. As a result, the cumulative index in the year is 5.66%, well below the 7.36% recorded in the same period of the previous year. Considering the last 12 months, the index stood at 8.95%, next to the 8.93% recorded over the 12 months prior to that period. In August 2015, the rate was 0.43%.
The complete data of the IPCA-15 can be accessed here.

The prices of food products increased 0.78% showing deceleration when compared with July’s figure (1.45%). The biggest results of the group were registered in the Metropolitan Areas of Belo Horizonte(1.31%), Rio de Janeiro (1.15%) and Fortaleza (1.10%), whereas the lowest one was recorded in the Metropolitan Area of Recife (0.32%). Carioca beans, the most consumed in Brazil, which pushed the result of the previous month with an increase of 58.06%, had a sharp deceleration, standing at 4.74%, although prices kept on the rise. Some products got more expensive from July to August, namely onions(-22.81%), potatoes (-18.00%) and green vegetables (-9.01%). Even so, Food and Beverages exerted pressure of 0.20 p.p. above the August IPCA-15, accounting for a contribution of 44% to the index. The following table shows the results of the nine groups of products and services surveyed:

Besides food products (0.78%), three other groups of products and services decelerated in relation to the previous month: Wearing apparel (-0.13%), Housing (-0.02%) and Transportation (0.10%).

In the group of Housing (-0.02%), the item electricity was the highlight (-1.87%), due to the drops reported in the following Metropolitan Areas: Curitiba (-4.76%), whose reduction of 13.83% in the fares came to effect on June 24; São Paulo (-3.94%), where the 7.30% reduction in the fare has been in effect since July 4, in one of the concessionaries; and Porto Alegre (-0.34%), with a decrease of 7.50% in effect since June 19, also in one of the  concessionaries.  Additionally, there was a drop in the quotes of PIS/COFINS in six of the eleven areas surveyed. Conversely, in Belém the high of 1.12% reflects the increase of 7.50% in effect since August 7.

In the other groups surveyed, the highlight is the high of 0.90% in Education - the biggest one among the groups, which reflects the results found in the August survey carried out in order to collect data related to the second semester of the school year. Regular courses changed 0.97%, whereas other courses (computer, languages, etc.) rose 1.13%.

As to the regional indexes, the highest one was registered in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro(0.88%), pushed by the high of 69.97% in hotel stays, associated to the rise of 1.15 % in food products, which stood above the national average (0.78%). The lowest index was recorded in Curitiba, with 0.01%, under the influence of 4.76% in electricity, reflecting the reduction of 13.83% in the fares in effect since June 24.

In order to estimate IPCA-15, the prices collected from July 14 to August 12 (reference) were compared with the ones in force from June 15 to July 13 (base).  The indicator refers to families with monthly income of 1 to 40 minimum wages and it encompasses the Metropolitan Areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador, Curitiba, and also Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology is the same as the one used for IPCA; the difference lies in the period of price collection and in the geographic coverage.