Food products and beverages, electricity, new automobiles and education were the main responsible for the index of January.

The Extended Consumer Price Index-15 – (IPCA-15) changed 0.68% in January, a result lower than the one of December 2004 (0.84%). In the last twelve months, the index accumulated a rate of 7.54%. Prices collected in the period from December 11, 2004 to January 12, 2005 were compared with prices charged between November 12 and December 10, 2004. 

The group food products and beverages, with change of 0.19% in December, hiked to 0.97%, pressuring the index in the beginning of the year. Important food products in the family consumption became more expensive, such as chicken (2.80%), meats (2.59%), eggs (2.39%), fish (2.00%), pasteurized milk (1.13%) and restaurants (1.17%). With the harvest being influenced by summer, products such as tomatoes (3.51%), carrots (15.49%) and green vegetables (2.27%) also were more expensive.

Besides the food products, other items became more expensive to the consumer, specially electricity (0.57%), new automobiles (0.79%) and education (0.41%).

Electricity, which passed from –0.33% in December to 0.57% in January, increased in four metropolitan areas: in Rio de Janeiro (2.42%), there was a readjustment in the tariffs and also in the contribution to bear the expense of the public illumination service in December; in Porto Alegre (0.41%), there was hike of 5.95% in December 14, due to the suspension of the reduction that was being conceded; in Recife (0.13%) and Brasília (0.20%), there were readjustments in the contribution to bear the expense of the public illumination service in January. 

In the case of automobiles (from 0.53% to 0.79%), the hike was influenced by the rearrangement of the prices charged in January and, in the group Education (from 0.22% to 0.41%), the index was pressured by the prices of school items.

Gasoline, despite the increase of 2.76%, presented deceleration in relation to December (3.45%). The same occurred with the tariffs of urban buses (from 1.74% to 0.45%) and with cigarettes (from 2.71% to 1.05%). Alcohol, by its way, stood out since it presented fall (-0.63%), while in December it hiked 8.64%.

Among the areas, the major result was observed in Fortaleza (1.26%) and the lowest result in Curitiba (0.33%).

The Extended Consumer Price Index –15 (IPCA-15) refers to families with monetary income, from any source, ranging from 1 to 40 minimum wages. It includes the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador and Curitiba, besides Brasília and Goiânia. The Extended Consumer Price Index –15 (IPCA-15) is calculated according to the same methodology of the IPCA. The difference between the two indexes is the period of price collecting.

See below the results of the indexes by areas

Change

Curitiba

0.33%

São Paulo

0.50%

Salvador

0.51%

Brasília

0.55%

Belém

0.59%

Belo Horizonte

0.80%

Goiânia

0.82%

Rio de Janeiro

0.83%

Recife

0.91%

Porto Alegre

1.13%

Fortaleza

1.26%

General

0.68%