The Extended National Consumer Price Index – IPCA of April was 0.64%...

The Extended National Consumer Price Index – IPCA of April was 0.64%, a figure three times higher than the rate of March, 0.21%.  It was the highest monthly index since April 2011 (0.77%).

The index accumulated in the year was 1.87%, significantly below the rate of 3.23% relative to the same period of 2011. Considering the last 12 months, the index was 5.10%, below the5.24% registered for the immediately previous twelve months.

The complete publication is available at

https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/inpc_ipca/defaultinpc.shtm

From March to April, most of the groups of products and services recorded increase in  their change rates, as seen in the table below:

The main highlight in the month was the item cigarettes, with a price rise of 15.04%, considering the average rise of 25% in effect since April 6. With 0.12 percentage points, this item represented the main highlight April. Cigarettes and the wages of domestic workers (from 1.38% in March to 1.86% in April) caused personal expenses to be the leader among the groups, with 2.23%.  Other items also contributed to the results of personal expenses, for example, excursions (1.88%), hotels (1.63%) and banking services (1.42%). 

Medicines, which recorded a price rise of 1.58% in April after the 0.02% of March, also influenced the index, considering the price adjustment of March 31. Medicines represented the biggest contribution to the result of 0.96% in the group health and personal care.

This way, by adding medicines (0.05 percentage points) to domestic workers (0.07 percentage points) and cigarettes (0.12 percentage points), all contributions amount to 0.24 percentage points, what means these three items accounted for 38% of the IPCA of April.

Other expenses influenced the April index as well. One example is apparel, which, with a new collection of the market, rose 0.98% whereas, in March, it had recorded fall of 0.61%.

The consumer now also spends more on housing (from 0.48% in March to 0.80% in April). The prices of cleaning articles rose 1.38%, versus 0.59% in March, with laundry detergent (from 0.85% to 1.33%) as the main highlight. Rents rose even more, up to 0.82%, compared with a result of 0.45% in March. Condominium fees also rose, having changed from 0.48% to 1.01%. Water and sewage rates changed from 0.93% to 0.98%, considering the price adjustment of 16.50% in effect in Curitiba since March 21. The value of manpower contracted for small repair rose 1.30% after the 1.03% recorded in the previous month. Other rising prices were those of cooking gas, which changed from 0.41% to 0.65%, and recorded significant increases in five of the eleven areas surveyed. The main highligh in this case was Goiânia, which rose by 2.32%. Electricity recorded change of 0.46%, above the 0.21% of March, with price adjustment in three of the areas surveyed, besides relevant increase of PIS/COFINS rates in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza.

Communications changed from -0.36% to 0.46% because calls from fixed to mobile telephones went back to its former level, and eliminated the reduction of 10.78% that had been granted by ANATEL on February 24, what caused the result of the item fixed telephony to change from -1.07% to 0.57%. That occurred due to the granting of a preliminary injunction to one of the operating companies. There was also rise of mobile telephone bills, with a change from 0.00% to 1.00% due to the average price adjustment of 6% of fares charged by one of the operating companies since April 15.

Considering expenditure on transportation (from 0.16% to 0.10%), although items such as airline tickets from 1.34% to 2.06%) and taxi fares (from 0.19% to 1.44%) recorded significant rise of prices, other important expenses in the consumer budget recorded decrease. One example is new cars (from -0.6% to -0.55%) and gasoline (from 0.11% to -0.27%), being the main highlight the more moderate rise of ethanol prices (from 1.88% to 0.81%).

The group household articles (from -0.40% to -0.79%) presented bigger decrease than observed in the previous month, mainly with reference to the item furniture (from 0.31% to -0.49%), what showed the influence of IPI reduction.

This way, non-food products had a hike of 0.68%, more than three times above the rate of March (0.20%).

However, food products also rose, having changed from 0.25% to 0.51%, twice as the change of the previous month. The metropolitan area of Belém reached 1.30% in the group food products and beverages, the biggest increase. Brasília, on the other hand, faced decrease of 0.07%, the lowest result.

In a period of low supply, the highlight was the most consumed sort of beans in the country, carioca beans, the price of which rose 12.66%. The following table presents the main food products with rising results:

Among the areas, the highest index was that of Rio de Janeiro (0.81%), as a result of the rise of salaries of domestic workers (7.37%). With the fall of prices of gasoline (2.97%), Goiânia (0.30%) recorded the lowest result in the month.

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of one to forty minimum wages, whatever the source. It encompasses nine metropolitan areas in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília. In order to measure the index of the month the prices collected from March 29 to April 27 (reference) were compared with the ones from March 01 to March 28 (base).

INPC changed by 0.64% in April

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of one to forty minimum wages, whatever the source. It encompasses nine metropolitan areas in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília. In order to measure the index of the month the prices collected from March 29 to April 27 (reference) were compared with the ones from March 01 to March 28 (base).

INPC changed by 0.64% in April

The National Consumer Price Index – INPC recorded a change of 0.64% in April, being above the result of 0.18% of March by 0.46 percentage points. As a consequence, the accumulated index closed the year at 1.73%, below the rate of 2.89% relative to the same period of 2011. Considering the last twelve months, the index was 4.88%, lower than that of the immediately previous twelve months (4.97%). In April 2011, INPC had been 0.72%.

Food products recorded change of 0.57% in April, whereas non-food products rose 0.67%. In March, the results were 0.25% and 0.42%, respectively.

Among the indexes by area, Porto Alegre (0.92%) had the highest rate, due to the rise of personal expenses (4.27%) and medicines (3.64%).

The lowest indexes were those of Brasília and Salvador, both with 0.32%. In Brasília, food products recorded decrease of 0.07%. In Salvador, the group personal expenses recorded the lowest result among the areas (0.85%).

INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1979. It refers to families with monthly income of one to five minimum wages, whatever the source. It encompasses nine metropolitan areas in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília. In order to measure the index of the month the prices collected from March 29 to April 27 (reference) were compared with the ones from March 01 to March 28 (base).