The Extended Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) posted a change of 0.78% in April and...

The Extended Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) posted a change of 0.78% in April and stood above March's rate (0.73%). It is the highest change since February 2013 (0.88%). In 2014, the IPCA-15 was 2.91% -  above the 2.58% result relative to the same period of 2013. Considering the last 12 months, the index stood at 6.19% - above the 5.90% rate recorded over the 12 months prior to that period. In April 2013, the rate was at 0.51%.

The complete publication of IPCA-15 is available at

www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/ipca15/defaultipca15.shtm.

The prices of food products, on the rise, reached a change of 1.84% and surpassed the 1.11% rate registered in March. Consequently, as shown in the table below, the group Food and Beverages exerted an impact of 0.45 percentage points and accounted for 58% of the IPCA-15:

This month the leading performances in terms of individual impacts were concentrated on food. Starting by meat, whose impact was 0.07 percentage points (p.p.) because prices were up 2.83%; followed by potatoes, whose 26.96% increase generated 0.06 p.p.; milk, now 5.70% more expensive per liter, with an impact of 0.05 p.p.; and tomatoes, increasing 14.80%, tied up with gasoline, which rose 0.93%, both recording an impact of 0.04 percentage points.

In medicines, prices were 0.69% higher, reflecting part of the increase - established between 1.02% and 5.68% (depending on the item) - granted on March 26. Such an increase took the group Health and Personal Care (0.69%) to the second position in terms of change in April's IPCA-15.

In the expenses with Housing, which rose 0.58%, consumers are paying more expensive prices for cleaning articles (1.48%) and for manpower for small repairs (1.06%). Among other items whose rates were up from one month to the other, the highlight is water and sewage, whose prices were 0.87% higher, reflecting the proper changes in index of the Metropolitan Areas of: Recife (7.11%), with an increase of 8.75% on March 20; Curitiba (4.34%), increase of 6.40% on March 24; and Brasília (3.68%), increase of 7.39% on March 1.

It is worth highlighting that five groups presented rising changes from March to April, but, due to the reduction in landline telephone bills (-2.03%), Communication (-0.61%) kept falling.

Of the four products and services with decreasing results from one month to the other, Transportation (0.54%) stands out because of the strong rise registered in March (1.22%). Despite the rise occurred in important items such as gasoline (0,93%) and ethanol (3,10%),  the decrease is due to airfares, which shrank significantly: a 1.79% fall after they had risen 27.08% in the previous month. Moreover, urban bus fares, which had pressed March's index with a 1.51% change due to a price increase in Rio de Janeiro, closed April at 0.09%.

Among the indexes by area, the highest ones were in Curitiba and Goiânia, both with 1.10%. In Curitiba, the highlight was the 4.39% high in food at home, besides water and sewage (4.34%) which reflected the 6.40% adjustment in force since March 24. Goiânia's index was pushed by the 2.62% result of gasoline and the 5.79% rate of ethanol. The lowest index occurred in Belém (0.32%), where food products registered a change of 0.73%, below the national result (1.84%). The following table shows the results by area surveyed:

In order to estimate IPCA-15, the prices collected from March 15 to April 11 of 2014 (reference) were compared with the ones in force from February 14 to March 14 of 2014 (base). The indicator refers to families with monthly income of one to forty 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 geographical coverage.