The extended national consumer price index (IPCA) of August advanced 0.44% and stood below the rate of July (0,52%) by 0.08 percentage points (p.p.). The cumulative index in the year (5.42%) stood well below the 7.06% recorded in the same period of 2015. The cumulative index in the last 12 months (8.97%) stood above the 8.74% of the prior 12-month period. In August 2015, the IPCA was at 0.22%.
The complete data of the IPCA can be accessed here.

The group food and beverages, which went from 1.32% in July to 0.30% in August, is the main responsible or the downturn of the IPCA, as shown in the following table.

The group food products, in the areas surveyed, recorded changes of -0.48% and 1.26%, whereas it had been between 0.96% and 2.06% in July. Six of the 13 paces surveyed showed price reductions: Goiânia(-0.48%), Belém (-0.45%), Salvador (-0.27%), Brasília (-0.25%), Recife (-0.03%) and Porto Alegre(-0.01%).

Among the products that contributed to bring down the rate, the highlights are potatoes
(-8.00%) and carioca beans (-5.60%), which had the greatest contribution to the reduction of the IPCA (-0.03 p.p., both). Even so, carioca beans, which exerted a strong pressure in the last months, accumulated a high of 136.57% in the year. Concerning potatoes, the increase was of 13.39% in the year. In the following table are the main food products that fell in August:

Entre os alimentos em alta (tabela abaixo), o destaque ficou com o item frutas, que aumentou 4,94% e deu a contribuição positiva mais significativa para o índice do mês (0,05 p.p.).

Besides food and beverages (from 1.32% in July to 0.30% in August), three other groups, of the nine surveyed, decelerated: Household articles (from 0.53% to 0.36%), transportation (from 0.40% to 0.27%) and communication (from 0.02% to -0.02%). The deceleration in the group transportation is mostly due to airfares, with a drop of 3.85% on average. The price of the airfares shrank in 10 of the 13 areas surveyed and the three exceptions were Rio de Janeiro (7.50%), Belo Horizonte (6.15%) andBrasília (3.11%).

Among the groups on the rise, education (0.99%) and personal expenses (0.96%) were the highest.Education reflected the result seen in the survey carried out in August in order to get price data of the second semester of the school year. Regular courses changed 0.95%, while other courses (computer, languages, etc.) recorded a high of 1.14%.

Hotel stays (11.58%) were the highlight in the group personal expenses. That is due to the increase of 111.23% recorded in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro, because of the Olympics held in August.

As to the regional indexes (table below), the highest one was recorded in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro, with 1.00%, pushed by the high of  111.23% in hotel stays, besides 0.90% in food products, quite above the national average (0.30%). The lowest index was seen in Recife (-0.09%), under the influence of electricity (-4.01%), reflecting the reduction of the quotes of PIS/COFINS. The drop ofgasoline (-3.16%) also contributed to the decrease in the rate.

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of 01 to 40 minimum wages, whatever the source, and it encompasses ten Metropolitan Areas in the country, besides Brasília and the municipalities of Goiânia and Campo Grande. In order to estimate the index of this month, the prices collected from July 29 to August 30, 2016 (reference) were compared with the prices in force from June 30 to July 28, 2016 (base).

INPC stays at 0.31% in August

The National Consumer Price Index - INPC recorded a change of 0.31% in August and stood below the rate of 0.64% of July by 0.33 p.p. With this result, the cumulative index in the year went to 6.09%, well below the 7.69% recorded in the same period of the previous year. Considering the last twelve months, the index is at 9.62%, slightly above the 9.56% relative to the twelve previous months. In August 2015, the INPC had been 0.25%.

Food products had a rise of 0.28% in August while in July the change had been of 1.63%. The group ofnon-food products had a change of 0.32% in August, above the rate of 0.18% of July.

Among the indexes by area (table below), the highest one was in Vitória (0.76%), due to the pressure of the rise in water and sewer bill (9.89%), increased by 10.78% on August 1st. The lowest index was seen in Recife (-0.07%), under the influence of electricity (-4.08%), reflecting the reduction of the quotes of PIS/COFINS.

In order to estimate the index of August, the prices collected from July 29 to August 30, 2016 (reference) were compared with those in force from June 30 to July 28, 2016 (base).  INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1979. It refers to families with monthly income of 01 to 05 minimum wages, whatever the source. It encompasses ten metropolitan areas in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia, Campo Grande and Brasília.