The index change in September was considerably below the August rate (0.47%). The reduction of IPCA (National Consumer Price Index) from one month to the other is seen as resulting from the deceleration of the rate of food products and beverages.

The index change in September was considerably below the August rate (0.47%). The reduction of IPCA (National Consumer Price Index) from one month to the other is seen as resulting from the deceleration of the rate of food products and beverages. Considering the rate accumulated in 2007, the IPCA was 2.99%, that is, higher than in the same period of 2006 (2.00%). Considering the last twelve months, the index accumulated was 4.15%, almost the same rate obtained in the immediately previous twelve months (4.18%). In September 2006, the index was 0.21%.

Having contributed with 21% to the September IPCA, the change in food products was 0.44%, opposite to the rise of 1.39% which had been registered in August. As a result, the contribution of the group to the formation of the index fell from 0.29 percentage points in August to 0.09 percentage points in September. The item milk and dairy products was the main responsible for this fall: whereas in August it had risen by 5.77%, in September it faced decrease of 1.20%.

Besides milk, other products became cheaper or rose less significantly during the month of September. The highlights were meat (0.62% in September, versus 2.98% in August) and “carioca” beans (4.09% in September, versus 5.11%).

The prices of other products also rose, especially of rice (from 1.58% in August to 3.54% in September) and of soybean oil (from 2.09% to 4.72%).

The price of non-food products also fell from August (0.22%) to September (0.11%). As a consequence, its contribution to IPCA was 0.09 percentage points in September, whereas in the previous month it had been 0.18 percentage points.

Apparel, which changed from -0.03% to 0.45% due to a new collection of clothes and footwear on the market, rose once again in September. Housing (from -0.05% in August to 0.54% in September) also had a more significant change, in part because of water and sewage fees, which  rose from 0.02% to 1.23%, considering the changes observed in two metropolitan areas: Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Rise in this group was also caused by changes in the prices of condominium fees (from 0.31% to 1.05%), articles for household repair (from 0.49% to 0.87%) and cooking gas (from 0.05% to 0.68%).

Another highlight was the rise of medicine prices, from 0.04% in August to 0.22% in September.

On the other hand, fixed telephony got 1.01% cheaper, on average, after having become 1.14% more expensive in August as a consequence of the readjustment of July 21^st. This occurred as a consequence of the changes which occurred in the metropolitan areas of Belo Horizonte (-3.78%), Recife (-2.86%), Belém (-3.15%), Fortaleza (-2.64%) and Salvador (-4.67%), where the change of the charging system (from pulses to minutes) led to reduction of bills.

In terms of fuels, whereas the liter of alcohol faced a more slight decrease (from -3.76% in August, to -1.77% in September), the fall of gasoline remained at closer levels (-0.80% in August and -0.79%) in September).

The highest index by area was that of Recife (0.55%), where food products (1.34%) and gasoline (3.55%) kept their high rates. The lowest IPCA was that of Porto Alegre (-0.12%).   

The IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980 and it refers to families with monetary income, from whatever source, ranging from 1 to 40 minimum salaries.  It encompasses nine metropolitan areas of the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília To calculate the index of the month, prices collected in from August 28 to September 27 (reference) were compared to prices in effect from July 28 to August 27 (base).

INPC changed by 0.25% in September

The result was also lower to that of August (0.59%). With the September index, the INPC accumulated in the year of 2007 was 3.39%, considerably above the rate of 2006 (1.32%). The index accumulated in twelve months was 4.92%, slightly above the result relative to the immediately previous 12 months (4.82%). In September 2006, INPC had been 0.16%.

In September, food products changed by 0.61%, whereas non-food products rose by 0.11%. The highest index by area was that in Fortaleza (0.80%); the lowest one, in Porto Alegre (-0.06%).

The INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1979; it refers to families headed by a salaried worker and with monetary income ranging from 01 to 06 minimum salaries. It encompasses nine metropolitan areas of the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília. To calculate the index of the month, prices collected in from August 28 to September 27 (reference) were compared to prices in effect from July 28 to August 27 (base).