The Producer Price Index (IPP) changed 0.35% in April against last March. This rate was higher than that recorded between March and February (0.04%). As a consequence, the cumulative index in the year advanced to -0.06% against -0.41% in March. On the other hand, the cumulative index in the last 12 months declined to 5.48% against 6.65% in March.

IPP measures the evolution of “factory gate” prices, discounted taxes and freight, of 23 sectors of the manufacturing industry.  The complete publication can be accessed on page

https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/ipp/default.shtm.

In April 2013, 18 out of the 23 activities registered positive changes in prices month over month, against 14 in March. The four biggest changes recorded in April were in the following industrial activities: pharmaceuticals (1.95%), rubber and plastic products (1.43%), paper and pulp (1.31%) and textiles (1.29%). Still comparing with March 2013, the highest influences came from: other chemical products (-0.09 p.p.), basic metals (0.07 p.p.), rubber and plastic products (0.05 p.p.), and machinery and equipment (0.05 p.p.).

The cumulative index in the year reached -0.06% against -0.41% in March 2013. The activities that registered the biggest changes in this indicator were: food products (-5.08%), textiles (4.38%), rubber and plastic products (3.04%), and manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (2.95%). The sectors that most influenced the cumulative index in the year were: food products (-1.03 p.p.), petroleum refining and alcohol production (0.31 p.p.), basic metals (0.20 p.p.), and rubber and plastic products (0.11 p.p.).

Considering the change of 0.35% in April, the prices of the manufacturing industry changed -0.06% in 2013, which is explained by the negative figures in January (-0.10%) and February (-0.35%). It is the first time in the series that the first four months of the year - as well as the first quarter - recorded a negative rate.

Conversely, the cumulative index in the last 12 months stayed at 5.48%, a figure lower than every figure registered between June 2012 and March 2013, when this indicator recorded 6.65%. The four biggest changes were: tobacco (11.60%), beverages (9.89%), rubber and plastic products (9.18%), and other chemical products (9.11%). The main influences came from food products (1.11 p.p.), other chemical products (0.98 p.p.), petroleum refining and alcohol production (0.92 p.p.), and rubber and plastic products (0.34 p.p.). All sectors that stood out in terms of influence over at least one indicator are analyzed below:

Food products: For the first time in the year, this sector registered a positive rate (0.16%) in the monthly comparison, though it has been the lowest positive rate in the series. As a consequence, this sector registered a cumulative fall
(-5.08%) in 2013 and an increase of 5.82% in relation to April 2012. It is important to mention that this last rate has been dropping since December 2012, when it recorded 14.86%.

The four highest influences this month ("refined sugar from sugarcane", "refined soybean oil", "sterilized milk" and "fresh or refrigerated poultry giblets") accounted for 0.18 p.p. It is explained by some products that seldom highlight ("sterilized milk" and "frozen or chilled poultry meat or giblets"). The case of milk is due to the off-season; the case of poultry meat, due to the oversupplied market along 2013.

Except for March 2013, "refined soybean oil" has been exerting a negative impact since August 2012, the peak of the under-supply of soybean in the international market. "Refined sugar from sugarcane" registered the second consecutive month of rise, after the falls in September 2012 and February 2013. Although the sugarcane crop has already begun, rainfall delayed the harvest in a period of pressed demand.

Petroleum refining and alcohol production: a rise of 0.10% in April, keeping the upward trend since March 2012. However, it is the third consecutive month of price deceleration. Factors like the adjustment in the price of gasoline and the expected sugarcane harvest influenced the prices in the beginning of the year, but not in April. This sector recorded a cumulative rise of 2.79% in the year and of 8.35% in the last 12 months.

Other chemical products: fall of 0.80% over March, the first one since November 2012. The cumulative index in the year registered a rise of 0.63%, as well as in the last 12 months: 9.11%. The products of the subsector of resins were the highlights: while the thermoplastic resins dropped, the thermosetting ones recorded a rise. Pesticides and manure also registered opposite figures. The four products that most influenced ("polypropylene (PP)", phenol/formaldehyde resins, NPK-based pesticides and manure), altogether, added up to -0.24 p.p. in the month over month index.

Rubber and plastic products: this sector ranked as the second highest figure this month in relation to the other activities of the manufacturing industry: 1.43%. As a result, this sector exerted the third biggest influence on the overall figure of April (0.05 p.p., along with machinery and equipment), as well as the third highest cumulative index in the year (3.04%).

The products that most influenced the monthly index were "new tires for trucks and buses", "new tires for cars and SUVs", "plastic bottles and packaging, including PET", and "non-strengthened and unsupported plastic plates, sheets and tapes", all of them with positive changes in prices. Altogether, they accounted for 1.09 p.p. of the change of 1.43%.

Basic metals: a rise of 0.89% against March, the third positive change in the year. The four products with the biggest changes in prices belong to steel metallurgy: "carbon steel ingots, blocks, billets or plates", "carbon steel rebars", "carbon steel bars", and "welded steel tubes", all of them with price rises.

The biggest influences over the index were: "carbon steel ingots, blocks, billets or plates", "carbon steel rebars", "uncoated carbon steel hot bobbins", and "unwrought non-alloy aluminum".

Machinery and equipment: a rise of 1.20% this month, representing the third biggest influence on the overall index of the manufacturing industry (of 0.05 p.p.), together with rubber and plastic products. Even considering this figure, the cumulative index in the year was negative (-0.74%), due to the negative rates in 2013. The prices in this sector increased 4.39% in the last 12 months.

The biggest positive influences this month were "tractors", "sewing machines for domestic use" and "machinery and devices for irrigation (agricultural use)" and the negative, "bearings for industrial use". The four, altogether, accounted for 0.63 p.p. of the rate of 1.20%.