The Extended National Consumer Price Index - IPCA stayed at 0.55% in January, 0.37 percentage points below the rate registered in December 2013 (0.92%). This was the lowest figure for January since 2009, when it stayed at 0.48%. After closing 2013 at 5.91%, the cumulative index in the last 12 months declined to 5.59%. The IPCA stayed at 0.86% in January 2013.
The complete publication of the survey can be accessed on page https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/inpc_ipca/defaultinpc.shtm.

Among the nine groups of products and services surveyed - as showed in the following table - five of them recorded figures below those of December and four accelerated.

As the main contributor to the reduced rate in the first month of the year, the group of Transportation dropped 0.03% and rose 1.85% in December. This was due to airfare, which fell 15.88% against a rise of 20.13% in December, and fuels, which changed from 4.12% to 0.77%. The prices of gasoline increased 0.60% in January, well below the rate of 4.04% of the previous month, when it reflected the price adjustment of 4% in force in the refineries since November 30.

With the beginning of the off-season of sugarcane, ethanol remained rising, though at a lower level than in December (4.83% to 1.43%). Diesel fuel, adjusted by 8% in the refineries on November 30, changed 0.91% in January against 4.89% in December. Interstate travel by bus also registered a lower increase, changing from 1.30% to 0.81%.

Still in the group of Transportation, inter-city bus fare rose 1.76%, a rate higher than in December (0.25%). The highlights in the inter-city bus fare were the changes posted in the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro (4.49%) and Belo Horizonte (6.06%). Taxi fare rose 3.28% against 0.18% in the previous month as a result of the increased prices in the metropolitan area of Curitiba (7.65%), due to the price adjustment of 15% in force since December 16, as well as in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro (%11.20), whose adjustment of 11.90% was in force since January 2.

After increasing 0.80% in the holiday season, Wearing Apparel articles declined (-0.15%) in January, reflecting the summer sales and becoming the smallest contributor to the group.

The group of Communication (from 0.74% to 0.03%) registered a lower figure than that of the previous month, as well as Household Articles, which decelerated after the holiday season (from 0.89% to 0.49%), highlighted by items furniture (from 1.36% to 0.08%) and repair of domestic equipment (from 1.06% to -0.24%). In addition, household appliances increased slowly (from 1.78% to 1.26%).

Despite the rise below the rate of December (0.89%), Food Products was the second biggest change in January (0.84%). By rising 3.07%, the item meat stood out by exerting the highest individual impact on the January index (0.08 percentage points). The prices increased 5.88% in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro. A number of products became more expensive, increasing their prices more or less than those in December. The main products can be found below:

On the other hand, some food products dropped from December to January. The highlights are shown in the following table:

Among the groups that accelerated the rate of price rise from one month to the other, Personal Expenses (from 1.00% to 1.72%) stood out, as a consequence of the pressure exerted by the following items:

                                                                        December                    January

·                      Cigarette                                               0.57%                          7.79%

·                      Excursion                                            8.89%                          9.26%

·                      Domestic worker                                 0.86%                          1.03%

Cigarette exerted the major pressure on the index this month, the same as item meat. By rising 7.79% and contributing with 0.08 percentage points, the increase of cigarette reflected part of the average adjustment of 12% in force since December 2 for some brands and areas. It also reflected the price adjustment of 14% in force since December 31, as well as part of the adjustment of 12% on January 13.

The groups of Health and Personal Care (from 0.41% to 0.48%), Housing (from 0.52% to 0.55%) and Education (from 0.05% to 0.57%) also accelerated from December to January. Education was the group with the highest rise in relation to the previous month, influenced by the rises registered in the items reading (from 0.17% to 1.62%) and stationery (from 0.46% to 1.95%), as well as regular courses (from 0.00% to 0.36%).

The increase of 0.36% recorded by regular courses basically reflected the rise of 4.43% carried out by the schools in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre. In the other areas, the price adjustments usually put into practice in the beginning of the school year will be reflected in the IPCA of February.

IPCA encompasses two new places this month onwards

As announced in August 2013, the National System of Consumer Price Indexes - SNIPC encompassed the Metropolitan Area of Vitória /ES and the municipality of Campo Grande/MS in the Extended National Consumer Price Index - IPCA and in the National Consumer Price Index - INPC from January onwards. Up to December 2013, the SNIPC was carried out with information coming from the Metropolitan Areas of Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre, as well as Brasília and the municipality of Goiânia.  As a result, the figures were:

The highest index was posted by the metropolitan area of Curitiba (0.77%), due to the change of 12.49% in the item cigarettes. By rising 1.17%, food products also influenced the result of this area.   The lowest index was registered in Brasília (-0.07%), in which airfare caused an impact of -0.54 percentage points, by weighting 3.10 and changing -17.27%. Moreover, electricity fare dropped 2.48%, as a result of the reduced taxes of PIS/PASEP/COFINS .

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of one to 40 minimum wages, whatever the source, and it encompasses ten metropolitan areas in Brazil, besides the municipalities of Goiânia, Campo Grande and Brasília.

In order to estimate the index of the month, the prices collected from December 31, 2013 to January 29,  2014 (reference) were compared with the prices in force from November 28 to December 30, 2013 (base).

INPC changes 0.63% in January

The National Consumer Price Index - INPC recorded a change of 0.63% in January, 0.09 percentage points below the result of December (0.72%). After closing 2013 at 5.56%, the cumulative index in the last 12 months declined to 5.26%. In January 2013, the rate was at 0.92%.

Food products stayed at 0.86% in January and changed 0.80% in December. The group of non-food products changed 0.53% in January against 0.69% in December.

The highest regional index was recorded in the metropolitan area of Salvador (0.83%), in which the increase of food prices surpassed the national average and hit 1.42%. Brasília (0.22%) recorded the lowest index this month, reflecting the drop of 2.59% in  electricity fare, as a consequence of the reduced PIS/PASEP/COFINS. The table below shows the indexes by area surveyed.

 In order to estimate the index of the month, the prices collected from December 31, 2013 to January 29,  2014 (reference) were compared with the prices in force from November 28 to December 30, 2013 (base).

INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1979. It refers to families with monthly income of one to five minimum wages, with a salaried head of the family, and it encompasses ten metropolitan areas in Brazil, besides the municipalities of Goiânia, Campo Grande and Brasília.