The Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15)changed 0.92% in January and stood 0.26 percentage points (p.p.) below the December´s rate (1.18%). This index was the highest for January since 2003 (1.98%). The cumulative index in the last 12 months stayed at 10.74%, close to the rate of 10.71% registered in 2015. In January 2015, the rate was 0.89%. The complete IPCA-15 data can be accessed at www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/ipca15/defaultipca15.shtm.

According to the table below, only two out of the nine groups of products and services surveyed accelerated their prices when compared with December: Personal Expenses (1.00%) and Health and Personal Care (0.66%).

Even decelerating in relation to the previous month, the highest figure among the groups was registered by Food and Beverages (1.67%). A number of products continued to increase their prices, even in a significant manner: carrots (23.94%), tomatoes (20.19%), onions (15.07%), carioca beans (8.95%), refined (7.81%) and crystallized sugar (6.67%), and potatoes (7.32%).

The following group was Personal Expenses (1.00%), the group that ranked in the second position in January, highlighted by: excursion (7.07%), manicurist, (2.17%), cigarettes (1.51%), hairdresser (1.14%) and domestic workers (0.77%).

The item cigarettes (1.51%) reflected part of the average adjustment of 12.00% granted on December 31, practiced by one of the manufacturers in most areas surveyed.

The group of Transportation (0.87%) strongly decelerated in relation to December (1.76%), since the item airfare (36.54% in December) dropped in January (-5.79%). In this group, fuel (1.26%) was the major individual contributor to the January´s index (0.07 p.p.). The liter of gasoline became 1.25% more expensive, whereas the liter of ethanol rose 1.56%.

In addition to fuel (1.26%), public transportation (1.12%) also pressed, due to adjustments concentrated in January in some areas, like urban bus fares, whose change stood at 1.92%, intercity bus fares, which hit 2.65%, and taxi, which reached 1.47%. The changes appropriated in January, the adjustments and the dates in force are below:

Still in the group of Transportation, subway and train fares stood out in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, having changed 1.43% due to the adjustment of 8.57% occurred on January 9.

Among the items that comprise the other groups of products and services surveyed, the highlights were: cleaning products (1.84%), TV, sound and computers (1.74%), laboratory and hospital services (1.52%), health insurance (1.06%), medical and dental services (0.94%), electricity (0.81%), water and sewage fees (0.71%) and residential rent (0.55%).

The highest regional index was recorded in Fortaleza, where food products rose 2.28%. The lowest index was posted in the metropolitan area of Curitiba (0.53%), due to food products figures (0.87%), which ranked below the national average (1.67%). The following table shows the results by area surveyed:

In order to estimate the IPCA-15, prices were collected from December 12, 2015 to January 14, 2016 (reference) and compared with those in force from November 13 to December 11, 2015 (base). The indicator refers to families with monthly income of 1 to 40 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 geographic coverage.