The Extended Consumer Price Index (IPCA) rose 0.79% in December, staying 0.19 percentage points above November’s rate (0.60%). It is the highest monthly IPCA since March 2011, when it reached the same rate of 0.79%, and the biggest index occurred in December since 2004, when the rate was 0.86%. As a result, the year 2012 closed at 5.84%, below the 6.50% rate relative to the previous year. In December 2011, the rate was at 0.50%.

The complete publication of the survey can be accessed at: https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/precos/inpc_ipca/defaultinpc.shtm.

Personal expenses had the biggest increase among groups in 2012 (10.17%)

Closing the year at 5.84%, IPCA in 2012 stood below the 2011’s index (6.50%) in 0.66 percentage points.  Of the groups surveyed, the highest was personal expenses, reaching 10.17%, whereas the lowest was transportation, with 0.48%.

For domestic workers, families paid 12.73% more.  The item led the main individual impacts in the year, with 0.45 percentage points. Besides employee’s wages, personal expenses reached the top (10.17%) due to the results of cigarette (25.48%); tour (15.25%); manicure (11.73%); hotel (9.39%); dressmaker (7.42%) and hairdresser (6.80%).

Of the nine surveyed groups, six showed acceleration in December’s IPCA

Except for Household articles, which moved from 0.47% in November to 0.27% in December, and communication, from 0.31% to 0.03%, the other seven groups recorded acceleration in the rates from one month to the other.

Food prices continued to rise and reached 1.03%, more than in November (0.79%). Although some products have increased less, others accelerated, such as tomato (from -20.90% in November to 6.26% in December), pullet (from 3.15% to 4.86%), green vegetables (from -0.63% to 3.79%), carioca beans (from -2.07% to 3.55%) and French roll (from 0.51% to 0.79%).

The change of the non-food products stood in 0.71%, above the 0.54% of November. Airfares cost 17.12% more in December, stood above the 11.80% of November and remained on top of the main impacts of the month, with 0.10 percentage points, increasing the expenses with transportation in 0.75% (0.68% in November).  The group was influenced by interstate bus fares (from 0.02% to 2.38%) e by the price of the liter of ethanol (from 0.63% to 2.11%), as well as used automobile, with a change of 0.11% over the drop of 0.60% in November, and  accessories and parts for vehicles (from -0.28% to 0.56%).

The item tour followed airfares and, with a high of 17.13%, stood in the second position in relation to the main impacts of the month, all of them responsible for 0.06 percentage points in the IPCA.  Other items influenced personal expenses to move from 0.53% in November to 1.60% in December, the biggest change in the group, with a highlight to cigarette (from 0.60% to 3.94%) and domestic workers (from 0.66% to 0.82%).

Prices of apparel increased more, going from 0.86% in November to 1.11%, the highlights were men’s clothes (from 0.32% to 1.25%) and women’s clothes (from 1.47% to 1.51%). Education rose from 0.05% to 0.19%; health and personal care went from 0.32% to 040%; and housing, from 0.64% to 0.63%, stood stable.  

Rio de Janeiro had the biggest high of IPCA in December (1.29%)

As for the indexes in the areas, the biggest was in Rio de Janeiro (1.29%) influenced, mostly, by the result of domestic worker (2.92%) and tour (24.06%), besides food increases (1.64%). The lowest was in Belo Horizonte (0.52%).

Transportation (0.48%), the second group of larger weight (19.52%), had a strong influence in the index formation.   In 2011, the group registered 6.05%, with an impact of 1.13 percentage points; while, in 2012, it was responsible for 0.04 percentage points of IPCA. The drops of 5.71% in the prices of new automobiles due to the IPI reduction contributed to that.  This item held the main down impact in the index (-0.21 percentage points).  Used automobiles stood 10.68% cheaper, the second lowest impact, with -0.18 percentage points.  Together, new and used automobiles stood with -0.39 percentage points in the year. Fuels (-0.72%) also had a important share, since consumers started to pay -3.84% for the liter of ethanol (with an impact of -0.04 points) and -0.41% for the gasoline (with an impact of -0.02 points).   But increases in other items pressed the rate, with a highlight for airfare (26.00%); vehicle insurance (7.78%); intercity bus fares (6.35%); urban bus fares (5.26%), and car repair (5.00%).

Communication (0.77%) and household articles (0.84%) showed rather lower results in the year.  Household articles recorded a drop of 13.25% in the prices of TV sets, 5.17% in computers and 2.28% in refrigerators.  Bills of landline telephones, which were 1.59% cheaper, stood out in communication. In the regular courses, the high of the monthly fees stood at 8.35%, whereas other courses (language, computer, etc) reached 9.67%, closing education at 7.78%.

Consumers also spent more on residential rent, which increased 8.95%. That item, together with manpower for household repairs (11.57%), condominium fees (8.75%) and water and sewage fees (8.84%), led expenses with housing to 6.79%.   Health plan (7.79%) became more expensive. The high prices of medical (11.11%) and dental appointments(8.36%), hospitalization and surgery services (7.11%), as well as medicines (4.11%) also pressed health and personal care, which closed the year at 5.95%. Among apparel articles, with a change of 5.79%, footwear stood out, with prices increasing 7.59%, whereas clothing was up 4.67%.

Non-food products had an increase of 4.64% in 2012, 1.65 percentage points below the 6.29% registered in 2011.

Food and beverages rise 9.86% in 2012

Food products and beverages, which hold the largest share of household budgets (23.93%) increased 9.86%, above 2.68 percentage points the 7.18% of the previous year.   The group was responsible for 39% of the rate and held 2.27 percentage points of the index.

That was attributable to the pressure exerted by food out of the housing unit, with a rise in prices of 9.51% in 2012, following the high of 10.49% in 2010, though less intense. The item meal out, which increased 8.59%, exerted the second main individual impact annual IPCA, with 0.41 percentage points, though all items related to food out have grown.

Food consumed at home became 10.04% more expensive mostly due to climatic problems and rose much more than the 5.43% rate obtained in 2011. Crystallized (-8.74%) and refined sugar (-3.22%) and meat (-0.67%) stand out among the products that became cheaper in 2012.

Belém was the region where IPCA had the biggest high in 2012 (8.31%)

As to the areas surveyed, Belém registered the lowest index in 2011 (4.74%) and in 2012 it reached 8.31%, the most elevated.  Food increased 14.32%, with an impact of 4.58 percentage points. That made food products and beverage (14.32%) responsible for 55% of the area’s index. The lowest index in 2012 was registered in the metropolitan region of São Paulo (4.72%).

In order to measure the index of the month, the prices collected between November 29^th and December 28^th of 2012 were compared to those in force in the period of October 30^th to November 28^th of 2012. IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of 1 to 40 minimum wages, whatever the source, and it encompasses nine metropolitan regions in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília.

INPC closes 2012 at 6.20%

INPC closed 2012 with a rate of 6.20%, above the 6.08% in 2011. Food products had a change of 10.41% and non-food products, 4.54%. In 2011, food products rose 6.27% and non-food products, 6.00%.

As for the regional indexes, the biggest was in Belém (8.35%), due to the significant increase in food prices, reaching 13.94%. Brasília (4.63%) stood with the lowest rate, where food products (7.37%) recorded the lowest change among the surveyed areas.

INPC has been calculated by IBGE since 1979. It refers to families with monthly income of one to six minimum wages, with a salaried head of the family, and it encompasses nine metropolitan regions in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília.