For the calculation of IPCA-15, prices collected between March 16 and April 13 were compared to those in effect between February 11 and March 15. The indicator refers to families with monthly income ranging from 1 to 40 minimum wages, and encompasses the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador and Curitiba, besides Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology is the same used for IPCA; the difference lies in the period of price collection.

The Extended National Consumer Price Index-15 (IPCA-15) changed by 0.48% in April, with a rate below that of March (0.55%). As a result, the index accumulated in 2010 was 2.51%, a figure above the result recorded in the same period of 2009 (1.51%). In the last 12 months, the index was 5.22%, also above the immediately previous twelve months (5.09%). In April, 2009 the rate was 0.36%.

Fuels, which became 3.08% cheaper, accounted for the deceleration of IPCA-15, from 0.55% in March to 0.48% in April. The liter of gasoline got 2.12% cheaper, turning this item into the main contribution to the decrease of IPCA-15: -0.09 percentage points. Ethanol, the liter of which became 13.64% cheaper, was in the second position, representing contribution of -0.06 percentage points to the overall index. So, together, fuels made up -0.15 percentage points of the April result. Recife was the only area not to record fall of fuel prices: quite the opposite, they rose 2.22%. In Goiânia, decrease reached 6.79% and in Curitiba, 6.32%.

 As a result, non-food products and services changed by 0.12% in April, versus 0.35% in March.  However, although there was deceleration from one month to the other, there was rise in the price of important items for family consumption, such as the salaries paid to  domestic workers (from 1.81% in March to 1.60% in April), which remain under the effect of the annual rise of the minimum wage; apparel (from 0.08% to 1.08%), considering the end of the sales period and the start of a new collection; and medicines (from -0.15% to 0.70%), the prices of which rose as a consequence of the price rise which occurred on March 31^st.

As a result, non-food products and services changed by 0.12% in April, versus 0.35% in March.  However, although there was deceleration from one month to the other, there was rise in the price of important items for family consumption, such as the salaries paid to  domestic workers (from 1.81% in March to 1.60% in April), which remain under the effect of the annual rise of the minimum wage; apparel (from 0.08% to 1.08%), considering the end of the sales period and the start of a new collection; and medicines (from -0.15% to 0.70%), the prices of which rose as a consequence of the price rise which occurred on March 31^st.

In the group food products and beverages, the rise of which has been seen as a consequence of climate conditions, the change of 1.71% in April was higher than that of March (1.22%). The prices of food products  rose 4.79% in the year, according to IPCA-15.

 In April, pasteurized milk changed by 9.63%, after having risen 5.27% in March, and accounted for the main individual contribution to the monthly index: 0.09 percentage points. The same happened to tomatoes, whose prices reached 36.81%, also amounting to 0.09 percentage points. Tomatoes had risen 26.50% in March and are 62.96% more expensive this year. Other food products also contributed to the significant price deceleration, for example, “carioca” beans (changing from -1.87% in March to 30.10% in April) and potatoes (from 6.21% to 12.24%).

See below the results by group:

The highest index by area was that of Recife (1.02%), where food products and gasoline presented the highest results: 1.02% and 2.79%, respectively. Curitiba (0.10%) recorded the smallest change, considering, mainly, significant price reduction for both gasoline (-5.07%) and ethanol (-18.91%).