Between March and April 2017, the price change of the overall industry was -0.12%, lower than that between March and February 2017 (0.06%). In the year, the prices of the overall industry accumulated a drop of -0.20% and in 12 months, the cumulative change was of 3.05%. In relation to March, the prices of 13 out of the 24 industrial activities survey were on a rise. Read more information on this survey here.

Table 1
Producer Price Index, by Mining and Quarrying Industries and Manufacturing Industries
(General Industry) and Sections - Last three months

Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Indústria

In April/2017, the prices of the overall industry (mining and quarrying and manufacturing industries) changed, on average, -0.12% in relation to March/2017, a lower figure than that between March andFebruary 2017 (0.06%).

In April/2017, in relation to March, 13 of the 24 activities had positive price changes, against 16 of the previous month. The four highest changes occurred in the following industrial activities: oil refining and ethanol products (-2.85%), printing (-1.94%), non-metallic mineral products (-1.93%) and wood (1.73%).

The greatest influences in the month’s index, in relation to March/2017 (-0.12%), were oil refining and ethanol products (-0.29 p.p.), food (-0.07 p.p.), mining and quarrying industries (0.06 p.p.) and other chemicals (0.06 p.p.).

The cumulative index in the year (April/2017 against December 2016) reached -0.20%, over -0.08%% inMarch/2017. The activities with the biggest percentage changes from the perspective of this indicator were:basic metals (7.50%), non-metallic mineral products (-6.33%), food (-4.73%) and other chemicals(3.83%). The sectors to exert the greatest influence were food products (-1.01 p.p.), basic metals (0.55p.p.), other chemicals (0.35 p.p.) and oil refining and ethanol products (-0.21 p.p.).

In relation to April 2016, the prices of the overall industry increased 3.05%, against 2.82% in March/2017. The four major changes were in mining and quarrying industries (33.20%), basic metals (15.26%), non-metallic mineral products (-10.64%) and other transportation equipment (-7.60%). The sectors to exert the greatest influence were: basic metals (1.08 p.p.), mining and quarrying industries (0.96 p.p.), food (0.69p.p.) and motor vehicles (0.47 p.p.).

Among the Major Economic Categories, in the comparison with March, the changes were: 0.09% in capital goods; -0.29% in intermediate goods; and 0.09% in consumer goods: 0.43% was the change observed in durable consumer goods and -0.01% in semi-and non-durable consumer goods.

Table 4
Producer Price Index, by Mining and Quarrying and Manufacturing Industries (General Industry) and Major Economic Categories - Last three months

Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Indústria

The influence of the Major Economic Categories was: 0.01 p.p. of capital goods, -0.16 p.p. of intermediate goods and 0.03 p.p. of consumer goods. In the case of consumer goods, 0.00 p.p. was due to price changes in semi-durable and non-durable goods and 0.04 p.p. in durable consumer goods.

The cumulative index in the year among the Major Categories was 0.42% for capital goods (with influenced of 0.04 p.p.), 0.56% for intermediate goods (0.31 p.p.) and -1.53% for consumer goods (-0.55 p.p.), in this case with influence of 0.12 p.p. of durable consumer goods and -0.67 p.p. of semi-and non-durable consumer goods.

Still concerning economic categories, the changes over April 2016 were: capital goods, 0.36% (0.03 p.p.); intermediate goods, 3.66% (2.04 p.p.); and consumer goods, 2.75% (0.97 p.p.): the influence of durable consumer goods was 0.32 p.p. and of semi-and non-durable consumer goods, 0.65 p.p.

Next are more detailed analyses of the 6 sectors that were among the 4 main highlights in April 2017, at least in one of the criteria: greatest price changes, biggest influences in all the three comparisons, and major weights.

Mining and quarrying industries: 1.72%, keeping the upward trend of the previous month. In relation to March, the prices of the sector exerted an influence of 0.06 p.p. on the result of the mining and quarrying industries and manufacturing industries (-0.12%). Mining and quarrying industries accumulated in the year a high of 1.94%.

In the comparison with April 2016, the prices of the mining and quarrying industries had the highest change (33.20%) among all the activities and exerted the second biggest influence on the general industry (0.96 p.p. in 3.05%).

Among the products of the mining and quarrying activities, iron ore prices increased in the three comparisons. However, crude petroleum oil had a negative influence on the monthly and cumulative changes in the year of the activity.

Food products: -0.35%, with the fourth consecutive drop, in the month of April. Throughout the series, there were other four moments in which there were at least four consecutive price drops: March 2010 to June 2010 (with a total decrease in the period of -4.24%); February 2011 to June 2011 (-5.28%); November 2011 to February 2012 (-1.84%); and March 2014 to July 2014 (-1.96%). Thus, the cumulative change in the first four months of 2017 (4.73%) was the second biggest drop (the first one was that of the five-month period in 2011). These were periods of Brazilian currency appreciation: of 6.6% between February and July 2011 and of 6.4% in the first four months of 2017.

In the comparison with April 2016, the prices of April in the current year were 3.39% higher. Concerning the index-number, that of April, 119.68, gets closer to that of May 2016, 118.95. In between is the highest index-number of the series, that of December 2016, 125.52. All in all, the index-number of April is 26.03% higher than the average of the series of index-numbers, 93.31.

Oil refining and ethanol products: in April, the sector's prices shrank for the third month in a row, specifically -2.85%, which is the third lowest rate of the series (the lowest one was that of March 2017, -3.25%). After this series of negative changes, the cumulative index reversed a positive result in March, 0.80%, to -2.07%. At last, 0.91% was April 2017/ April 2016 change, the lowest of the year.

In the case of the highlighted products, there was just a positive result among those of greatest changes (basic lubricants) and a positive one among those of greatest influence (GLP). Such products did not appear among those of highest contribution to the calculation of the index. The other highlighted products influenced negatively the index (-2.87% p.p. in -2.85%).

The sector came as a highlight in terms of change in the M/M_-1 — the highest change among all the industries which comprise the indicator (-2.85% over the -0.12% of the mining and quarrying industries and manufacturing industries) — and, in terms of influence: as the greatest in the M/M_-1 (-0.29 p.p. in -0.12%) and the fourth biggest in the cumulative index (-0.21 p.p. in -0.20%).

Other chemicals: the chemical industry recorded from March to April a positive change of prices of 0.66% in relation to the month of March (seventh positive change in the last eight months, in that kind of comparison), which generated a cumulative change of prices in the year of 3.83% and of 0.07% in 12 months. In order to highlight that the comparison basis of prices was in low levels, one can observe that, in terms of cumulative change of prices, in relation to December 2013, the activity reached 3.48% - a very distant figure from the pick reached in October 2015, which was 17.48%.

It should be noted that the main changes occurred in products that are not among those with highest weights - which does not occur to those of higher influence, among which only 'manure and NPK fertilizers' and herbicides for agricultural purposes' were not highlights in this situation.

The scenario of the chemical industry, specially concerning basic and intermediate petrochemicals for plasticizers, resins and fibers, is linked to the international values associated to electricity, to the purchase of imported raw-material, to the dollar exchange value (devaluation of the American currency in relation to the real of 12.0% in the last 12 months) and to the prices of the naphthas - a product with significant drop of prices in April, but with highs in the cumulative index of the year and in the comparison with April 2017 against April 2016 - which also explains partially the price recovery in the activity.

Also to be noted is that, for the four products that mostly influenced on the month-over-month comparison, two had positive price changes and the other two recorded negative results. This generated a null change; that is, the other 28 products contributed with the 0.66 p.p. of the monthly change.

Basic metals: 0.31%, the sixth consecutive price rise. Thus, the sector accumulated highs of 7.50% in the year and 15.26% in the last 12 months. It should be mentioned that a year ago the basic metal sector recorded the greatest price decrease in this kind of comparison since August 2011 and now this figure is higher than the positive change since the IPP started (January 2010).

In relation to March, the products that mostly influenced the results of the month are three of the four products of greatest weight in the activity: 'carbon steel ingots, blocks, billets or plates', 'carbon steel hot-rolled coil, uncoated' and 'unwrought non-alloy aluminum' - the first two ones with negative influence and the third one with a positive influence. Besides these products, another highlight is 'stainless steel coils or plates, including stripes', with negative change and influence.

The behavior of the sector is influenced by the combination of the basic metal groups' results (related to steel products) and the group of non-ferrous materials (copper and aluminum).

Motor vehicles:  0.55%, the ninth consecutive positive change in the activity, which has been recording positive results over the previous month since August 2016. As a result, the cumulative change in the year reached 1.40%. In April 2016, the cumulative index was of 0.92%. The prices in this sector accumulated a high of 4.39% in the last 12 months.

Besides being one of the sectors of greatest weight in the calculation of the overall index (just behind food), the activity exerted the fourth major influence on the cumulative change in the last 12 months (0.47 p.p. in 3.05%)

Among the four products of major influence in comparison with March, three had a positive impact in the index (“gear boxes for motor vehicles”, “biofuel, gasoline or ethanol passenger car with any engine power output” and “diesel trucks with a load capacity above 5-t” – these last two ones were the products with the highest weights in the activity) and just one of them pushed the other way around, (“diesel and semi-diesel engines for buses and trucks”). The influence of these four products was of 0.50 p.p. in 0.55%, i. e., the other 21 products of the activity contributed with 0.05 p.p.

In relation to the cumulative index in the year and in 12 months, the four products of greatest influence were the same for both indexes: 'biofuel, gasoline or ethanol passenger car with any engine power output', 'diesel trucks with a load capacity above 5-t', 'chassis with engine for buses or trucks' and 'gasoline or ethanol vehicles for the transportation of goods with load capacity below 5t'.  Of all these products, only the first two ones are among the greatest weighs in the sector.