The Extended Consumer Price Index – IPCA in August had a variation of 0.69%, remaining 0.22 percentage points below the rate of July (0.91%), when it reached the year's highest percentage rate. In August 2003, the rate was of 0.34%.

With the result of 0.69% in August, the IPCA accrues 5.14% in the year, also below the accrued total in the same period of 2003 (7.22%). In twelve months, the index remained at 7.18%, above the result of the preceding twelve months (6.81%).

The variation of alcohol fuel (11.49%) was the greatest individual contribution towards the month's IPCA, 0.10 percentage point of the 0.69% rate due to the appreciation of sugarcane. In the metropolitan region of Curitiba, that registered the highest regional index (1.38%), the price of alcohol remained 21.99% more expensive.

The valuation of sugarcane also reflected on the expenses with food (from 0.67% in July to 0.85% in August), causing a high in the price of refined sugar (from 7.57% to 14.67%) and crystal sugar (from 2.77% to 5.42%).

Even so, soothing the effects of increases that took place for electric energy and fixed telephony tariffs and gas prices, the IPCA registered a deceleration in the growth rates for the three items, from one month to another. Electric energy decreased from 3.67% in July to 0.50% in August; fixed telephony, from 4.88% in July to 0.62% in August and gas, from 2.46% in July to 1.64% in August.

Rice with beans cheaper

The Food and Beverages group, that increased from 0.67% to 0.85%, in addition to sugars, had products with significant highs in August, such as chayote, that increased 43.77%; onions, with a high of 31.34% in the month and that already accrued 196.98% in the year or tomatoes, with prices that were 28.35% more expensive in August and 90.88% in the year. Although food registered a sharper variation from July to August, important consumption products became less expensive, such as carioca beans (- 9.39%) and rice (- 3.36%). In addition to the traditional rice with beans, others also registered decreases in their prices: yogurt (-1.05%); eggs (-1.50%), soy oil (-2.29%) and manioc flour (with –4.95% in August and –11.19% in the year).

In the non-food products group, the variation was of 0.64% in August, remaining below July's result of 0.98%. One of the highlights was the "domestic servants' wages" item, that demonstrated reflections of the increase of the minimum wage by passing from 0.74% in July to 1.40% in August. For urban buses and clothing items, the results in August remained very close to those of July (0.52% in the two months, in the case of the buses and of 0.51% to 0.50% for clothing).

Among the surveyed regions, the highest index was registered in Curitiba (1.38%), mainly due to the high of food (1.91%), gas (8.72%) and alcohol (21.99%) prices. The lowest index was registered in Salvador (0.26%), where food registered a decrease of 0.60%.

AUGUST INPC WAS 0.50%

The National Consumer Price Index - INPC had a variation of 0.50% in August, below the 0.73% rate in the month of July by 0.23 percentage point. With August's result, the INPC accrued a high of 4.41% in the year, remaining below the accrued rate for the same period of 2003 (8.08%). In the last twelve months, the rate remained at 6.64% above the result for the twelve months that immediately preceded it, of 6.30%. In August 2003, the INPC registered at 0.18%.

The Food prices increased 0.76%, higher than the 0.53% that was registered in July and the non-foods had a variation of 0.39%, lower than that of July (0.82%).

Among the regions, the highest rate was registered in Rio de Janeiro (1.12%) and the lowest in Salvador (0.04%). Recife did not register a price variation.

Note: The IPCA has been calculated by the IBGE since 1980, it refers to families with monetary earnings of 01 to 40 minimum wages, from any source, and covers nine metropolitan regions in the country, in addition to the municipal districts of Goiânia and Brasília. As for the INPC, has been calculated since 1979, and refers to the families with monetary earnings of 01 to 08 minimum wages, by the wage-earning head of the household, and has the same geographic coverage.

In the calculation of August's indexes, the prices collected in the period of July 29th to August 26th (reference) were compared to the same priced valid in the period of June 29th to July 28th (base).