In March, IPCA-15 stays at 0.10% and IPCA-E, at 0.87%
March 23, 2018 09h00 AM | Last Updated: March 27, 2018 12h51 PM
The Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 - IPCA-15 changed 0.10% in March, standing below the February figure (0.38%). In the time series started with the Real Plan in 1994, this was the lowest rate for March since 2000, when it registered 0.09%. The cumulative index in the last 12 months stayed at 2.80%, standing slightly below the rate of 2.86% recorded in the 12 immediately previous months. The IPCA-E, which accrues the monthly changes of the IPCA-15 per quarter, stood at 0.87%, below the rate of 1.00% posted in the first quarter of 2017. The complete publication of the IPCA-15 is on the right side of this page.
| PERIOD | RATE |
| March | 0.10% |
| February | 0.38% |
| March 2017 | 0.15% |
| Cumulative in the year | 0.87% |
| Cumulative in 12 months | 2.80% |
Two out of the nine groups of products and services surveyed registered a deflation between February and March: Food and beverages (-0.07%) and Communication (-0.19%). Having recorded the highest change among the groups (0.54%), Health and personal care also posted the biggest impact (0.07 percentage points).
The drop of 0.19% in the group of Communication was influenced by the item landline telephone (-0.94%), due to the reduction in the fare of local and long-distance calls from a landline telephone to mobile telephones, in force since February 25.
| Group | Monthly Change (%) | Impact | Cumulative Change (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (p.p.) | ||||||
| January | February | March | March | Quarter | 12 months | |
| Overall Index | 0.39 | 0.38 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.87 | 2.80 |
| Food and Beverages | 0.76 | 0.13 | -0.07 | -0.02 | 0.82 | -1.47 |
| Housing | -0.41 | -0.51 | 0.13 | 0.02 | -0.79 | 4.68 |
| Household articles | 0.06 | 0.20 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.35 | -0.97 |
| Wearing apparel | 0.36 | -0.73 | 0.00 | 0.00 | -0.37 | 2.70 |
| Transportation | 0.86 | 1.11 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 2.05 | 5.18 |
| Health and Personal Care | 0.41 | 0.34 | 0.54 | 0.07 | 1.30 | 6.15 |
| Personal Expenses | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.50 | 3.79 |
| Education | 0.28 | 4.01 | 0.25 | 0.01 | 4.56 | 5.25 |
| Communication | 0.08 | 0.03 | -0.19 | -0.01 | -0.08 | 0.39 |
Accounting for nearly one quarter of the expenditure of households, the group of food products changed -0.07%. In regional terms, the indexes changed from -0.84% in Salvador to 0.19% in Curitiba. Having retreated 0.29% over February, food at home caused the drop in the group of food products in March, since many products registered a deflation like meat (-0.66%) and tomatoes (-5.00%).
Health and personal care recorded the highest monthly rise (0.54%) among the groups surveyed. The pressure was exerted by the item health plans (1.06%), the biggest individual impact on the month´s index (0.04 p.p.).
In Transportation (0.07%), the result comprises the change of 1.30% in urban buses, according to the fare adjustments shown in the table below:
| Urban bus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Change (%) | Adjustment (%) | Date |
| Goiânia | 2.04 | 8.11 | 24/01 |
| Fortaleza | 3.76 | 6.43 | 03/02 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 3.75 | 5.88 | 05/02 |
| Belém | 5.48 | 6.45 | 20/02 |
| Porto Alegre | 0.74 | 6.17 | 13/03 |
Still in Transportation, airfare fell 15.33%, being responsible for the biggest negative impact on the index (-0.06 p.p.).
According to the following table, the regional indexes accelerated only in Fortaleza (from 0.13% in February to 0.26% in March) and Brasília (from -0.09% in February to 0.08% in March). The other metropolitan areas decelerated. Belém posted the highest change (0.29%), due to the rise of 5.48% in urban buses. The lowest index was reported in Salvador (-0.09%), in which tomatoes (-15.94%) and airfare (-16.55%) contributed to this drop.
| Area | Regional Weight (%) | Monthly Change (%) | Cumulative Change (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | February | March | Quarter | 12 Months | ||
| Belém | 4.65 | -0.06 | 0.38 | 0.29 | 0.62 | 1.11 |
| Fortaleza | 3.49 | 0.43 | 0.13 | 0.26 | 0.82 | 1.41 |
| Belo Horizonte | 11.23 | 0.35 | 0.38 | 0.25 | 0.99 | 1.94 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 12.46 | 0.48 | 0.57 | 0.17 | 1.22 | 2.68 |
| São Paulo | 31.68 | 0.52 | 0.39 | 0.11 | 1.02 | 3.64 |
| Brasília | 3.46 | 0.03 | -0.09 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 2.91 |
| Porto Alegre | 8.40 | 0.45 | 0.37 | 0.02 | 0.83 | 2.72 |
| Curitiba | 7.79 | 0.52 | 0.25 | 0.01 | 0.79 | 2.94 |
| Recife | 5.05 | 0.34 | 0.21 | -0.04 | 0.50 | 2.76 |
| Goiânia | 4.44 | 0.21 | 0.13 | -0.04 | 0.30 | 3.78 |
| Salvador | 7.35 | 0.12 | 0.78 | -0.09 | 0.81 | 1.75 |
| Brazil | 100.00 | 0.39 | 0.38 | 0.10 | 0.87 | 2.80 |
In order to estimate the IPCA-15, the prices collected from February 16 to March 15, 2018 (reference) were compared with the ones in force from January 16 to February 15, 2018 (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, as well as Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology is the same as the one used for the IPCA; the difference lies in the period of price collection and in the geographic coverage.
