The index was slightly lower than in August (0.28%) and higher than in September 2007 (0.18%).

The figure accumulated in the year (4.76%) was above that in the same period last year (2.99%) and the index accumulated in 12 months (6.25%), in September 2008, was higher than in same period of the previous year (6.17%).

The Extended National Consumer Price Index – IPCA of September changed by 0.26% and was very close to the figure of August (0.28%). With this result, the index accumulated in the year was 4.76%, whereas in the same period last year it had been 2.99%. In the last 12 months, the change was 6.25%, above the 6.17% relative to the immediately previous 12 months. In September 2007, the rate was 0.18%.

For the calculation of the monthly index, prices collected from August 28 to September 29 (reference) were compared to prices in effect from July 30 to August 27 (base).

Despite the leadership of the item “Meals taken out of the household”, with hike of 1.39%, one of the main contributions (0.06 percentage points) , the group Food products and beverages had a more significant decrease than in the previous month, changing from -0.18% to -0.27%, with contribution of -0.06 percentage points.

Several products contributed to the performance of the group, being the main highlight pasteurized milk (-4.44%), which represented -0.05 percentage points in the month’s IPCA. The main items with falling rates are shown below:

As shown in the table below, the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre had the only hike: 0.39%. The other 10 areas faced fall of prices, being that of Brasília the most significant figure: -1.09%.

 With this September result, the group Food products, in spite of the falling rate in the month, accumulated rise of 9.29% in the year. This result was significantly above that of last year, which was 7.20%.

Non-food products had identical rates in August and September: 0.42%. Among the nine groups which form IPCA, including Food products, three had falling rates in September. Five of them, however, had hikes from one month to the other. Besides that, there was rise in Housing, but at a lower rhythm than in the previous month, as seen in the table below.

 The liter of gasoline, which had been a little lower in August (-0.25%), rose once more in September (0.69%). The hike was concentrated in Belém (4.04%), Curitiba (4.69%) and Goiânia (4.88%).

Alcohol rose 0.43% in August and 1.20% in September. Hikes were also concentrated in areas of Belém (1.82%), Curitiba (5.80%) and Goiânia (8.02%), besides the metropolitan area of São Paulo (1.16%).

The group Transportation changed moved from 0.06% to 0.39%, being the highlights: used cars (1.06%), car repair (1.16%) and vehicle insurance (3.14%).

The articles of personal hygiene (0.82%) and medicines (0.30%) caused the hike of the group Health and personal care (from 0.32% to 0.46%), whereas Personal expenses (from 0.73% to 0.80%) were affected by the salaries of domestic workers (0.94%) and by cigarettes.

In Housing, although the costs of electric energy fell by 0.46% and the water supply and sewage services rose significantly less (from 1.57% to 0.96%), cleaning articles (from 0.96% to 1.84%) and articles for household repair (from 0.72% to 1.27%) showed acceleration in the rise rate from August to September.

Among the areas surveyed, Goiânia (0.52%) had the highest result, considering that the liter of gasoline became 4.88% more expensive, and the liter of alcohol, 8.02%. The lowest index was that of Brasília (-0.53%), affected by the results of food products, which became 1.09% cheaper. The table below shows the monthly results by area surveyed.

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980 and it refers to families with monetary income, from any source, ranging from 1 to 40 minimum wages.  It covers nine metropolitan areas of the country, besides the municipality of Goiânia and Brasília. 

INPC changed by 0.15% in September

The National Consumer Price Index – INPC changed by 0.15% in September, below the result of August (0.21%). The index accumulated in the year (5.25%) was above the rate of 3.39% relative to the same period last year; the index of the last 12 months (7.04%) was below that of the immediately previous 12 months (7.15%). In September 2007, INPC was 0.25%. Food products changed by -0.46% in September, whereas non-food products rose 0.42%. In August, the results were: -0.42% and 0.49%, respectively.

INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1980 and it refers to families with monetary income, from any source, ranging from 1 to 6 minimum wages.  It covers nine metropolitan areas of the country, besides the municipality of Goiânia and Brasília. 

To calculate the index of the month, prices collected from August 28 to September 29 (reference) were compared to those in effect from July 30 to August 27 (base).

Porto Alegre had the highest change (0.44%), mainly due to the result of the group Food products and beverages (0.18%) which was also the best result of the group among the areas. The opposite happened in Brasília, where food products became 1.28% cheaper, leading to the lowest result of the month (-0.54%). The table below presents the indexes by metropolitan area surveyed.