The Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) of August changed 0.25%, well above the rate of 0.01% of July. As a result, the cumulative index in the year closed at 4.02%, above the rate of 3.43% in the same period of 2013. Considering the last 12 months, the index stayed at 6.51%, close to the rate of 6.50% relative to the previous 12 months. In August 2013, the rate was 0.24%. The complete publication of the survey can be accessed on page https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/inpc_ipca/defaultinpc.shtm.

Exerting an influence of 0.05 percentage points each, the items domestic workers (1.26%) and electricity (1.76%) led the ranking of the main impacts on the index in August. Concerning the item domestic workers, the highlight was the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, which registered a change of 3.02%. Rio de Janeiro was followed by São Paulo (1.29%), Recife (1.02%) and Belo Horizonte (0.91%).

Due to the lack of information of the Monthly Employment Survey (PME) in May and June,  Salvador and Porto Alegre had their computation changed. This procedure used the last available income - referred to April - to obtain the trend of the income time series in August. Four months were estimated ahead of April instead of two, as currently adopted in the methodology. The other areas followed the regular procedure stated in the technical note 02/2007: the income was estimated two months ahead based on June´s income effectively collected by PME.

Even considering the rise of domestic workers, the group of personal expenses stayed at 0.09%, below the rate of 0.12% in the previous month. This was mainly due to the drop of 10.13% in hotel fare, which was the item that exerted the most significant downward pressure (-0.05 percentage points).

Electricity reached 1.76%, due to the changes in the metropolitan areas of Belém (24.28%), which adjusted the fare by 34.41%, on August 7; Vitória (9.88%), which adjusted it by 22.77% on the same date; São Paulo (3.03%), which adjusted it by 18.00% on July 4; Goiânia (2.32%), which increased PIS/PASEP/COFINS; Campo Grande (1.38%), which also increased PIS/PASEP/COFINS and Brasília (1.32%), which adjusted the fare by 18.88% on August 26. The electricity fare was stable or even decreasing in the other areas.

Water and sewage fees rose 1.46% in the group of housing, which registered the highest rate in August. Prices increased in the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro (6.10%), which adjusted the fare by 6.75% on August 1st; Vitória (5.25%), which increased it by 5.81% on the same date; and Fortaleza (2.03%), whose adjustment of 7.30% was in force since July 6. São Paulo´s figure (3.24%) took into account the smaller effect of the Incentive Plan for Reduction of Water Consumption, which applies a discount of 30% to those water and sewage consumers who decrease the monthly consumption by 20%. Still concerning housing, it is worth highlighting the changes in condominium fees (1.35%), cleaning products (1.31%), renting (0.66%) and manpower for small repairs (0.66%). Like domestic workers, manpower followed the same procedure to compute the areas of Salvador and Porto Alegre.

The figures showed that transportation was the group with the highest acceleration from one month to the other. Part of this acceleration was attributed to airfare, which rose 10.16%, after falling 26.86% in July. Moreover, items that dropped in July reversed to a rise in August, like gasoline (from -0.80% to 0.30%) and new car (from -0.29% to 0.22%). On the other hand, ethanol (from -1.55% to -0.07%) recorded a less intense drop from one month to the other.

Expenditures like education (from 0.04% to 0.43%) and communication (from -0.79% to 0.10%) also rose, whereas the drop of  wearing apparel (from -0.24% to -0.15%) was less intense. In education, other courses (computers, language, etc.) stood out (1.09%), reflecting the prices surveyed in August. The survey aimed at focusing on the second half of the school year.

Considering the groups that increased less between July and August, household articles (from 0.86% to 0.47%) and health and personal care (from 0.50% to 0.41%) joined housing (from 1.20% to 0.94%) and personal expenses (from 0.12% to 0.09%).

By registering -0.15% both in July and August, food and beverages declined their prices for the fifth month in a row. The drop was 0.61% if we considered just food at home. The prices decreased in all the areas surveyed, changing from -0.03% in Rio de Janeiro to -1.46% in Curitiba. The item food away from home (from 0.52% to 0.71%) rose more intensely than in the previous month.

A number of food products became cheaper from one month to the other, particularly potatoes (-17.87%), tomatoes (-5.80%) and soybean oil (-4.94%).

The highest regional indexes were recorded in Belém (0.98%) and Vitória (0.91%).  The rise of 24.28% in electricity fare was responsible for the result in Belém, having in mind the adjustment of 34.41% in force since August 7. Electricity (9.88%), which was adjusted by 22.77% on the same date, and water and sewage fees, which was adjusted by 5.81% on August 1st, were the main responsible for the result in Vitória. The lowest indexes were posted in Campo Grande (-0.07%) and Belo Horizonte (-0.02%).

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 July 29 to August 28,  2014 (reference) were compared with the prices in force from June 28 to July 28, 2014 (base).

INPC changes 0.18% in August

The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) changed 0.18% in August, above the July´s figure (0.13%). As a result, the cumulative index in the year stayed at 4.11%, above the rate of 3.33% relative to the same period in 2013. Considering the last 12 months, the index was at 6.35%, close to the rate of 6.33% in the previous 12 months. In August 2013, INPC was at 0.16%.

Food products dropped 0.20% in August, while non-food products rose 0.35%. In July, the figures were  -0.23% and 0.29%, respectively.

The highest regional index was registered in Vitória (0.91%), due to the rise in electricity (9.85%), whose fare was adjusted by 22.77% on August 7. Adjusted by 5.81% on August 1st, water and sewage fees (5.25%) also exerted pressure. The lowest index was recorded in Campo Grande (-0.13%).

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. In order to estimate the index of the month, the prices collected from July 29 to August 28,  2014 (reference) were compared with the prices in force from June 28 to July 28, 2014 (base).