The Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) changed 0.92% in December and stood 0.38 percentage points above the rate of 0.54% registered in November. This was the highest monthly rate since April 2003, when it reached 0.97%, as well as the highest rate in December since 2002, when it reached 2.10%. The year of 2013 closed at 5.91%, above the rate of 5.84% last year. The rate was at 0.79% in December 2012.

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

Transportation registered highest change and highest impact in December

Among the nine groups of products and services surveyed - as showed in the following table - three of them recorded figures below those of November, five accelerated the growth rate and one of them remained stable.

Gasoline, which impacted 0.15 percentage points on the index, and airfare, which impacted 0.12 p.p., were the individual highlights this month. Adding up to 0.27 p.p., these two items together represented nearly one third (29%) of the IPCA. The liter of gasoline became, on average, 4.04% more expensive. It should be noted that consumers from the metropolitan area of Salvador started to pay 15.85% more for this fuel. This rise at the pump reflected the price adjustment of 4.00% at the refineries in force since November 30. As to airfare, the average rise was much higher and reached 20.13%, a level even surpassed in regions like Fortaleza and Salvador, whose changes were 30.48% and 31.74%, respectively.

Far from the figure reported in November (0.36%), the group of Transportation posted an increase of 1.85%. It was not only the highest change, but also the highest impact among the groups in December (0.35 percentage points). In regard to fuels (4.12%), reflecting the beginning of the off-season of sugarcane, ethanol registered an average increase of 4.83%, even hitting 8.43% in Salvador and Goiânia. The adjustment of 8% of diesel fuel at the refineries on November 30 reflected in an adjustment of 4.89%, on average, of the consumer prices. Interstate travels by bus also became more expensive this month (1.30% on average), still as a consequence of the fare adjustment of 6.90% in force since October 3.

By rising 1.00%, above the rate of 0.87% in November, Personal Expenses immediately followed Transportation. By changing 0.86%, income from domestic workers also pressed the index, whereas excursion rose 8.89%. Other services became more expensive, highlighted by hairdresser and manicurist, which increased 1.99% and 1.55%, respectively. By rising 0.57%, cigarettes reflected part of the price adjustment of 13% in force since November 2 for some brands in some areas, as well as the price adjustment of 12% in force since December 2.

Household articles lifted to 0.89% against 0.38% in November. The highlights were household appliances and domestic maintenance and repair services, which increased 1.78% and 1.06%, respectively.

The groups of Food and Beverages (from 0.56% in November to 0.89% in December) and Communication (from 0.40% to 0.74%) also rose more than in the previous month, whereas Health and Personal Care maintained the same rate registered in November (0.41%).

In the case of food, the average increase was 0.89% and caused an impact of 0.22 p.p. in the IPCA in December, only below the impact of 0.35 percentage points exerted by the group of Transportation. The group of food rose 1.50% in Salvador, followed by Rio de Janeiro (1.32%) and Brasília (1.31%). Consumers started to pay more for some products, highlighted by meat, whose prices increased 2.33%. On the other hand, long life milk became 4.77% cheaper in December and exerted the major downward impact (-0.05 percentage points).

Three out of the nine groups of products and services surveyed recorded figures below those of November: Wearing Apparel (from 0.85% in November to 0.80% in December), Housing (from 0.69% to 0.52%) and Education (from 0.08% to 0.05%). Considering the expenses with Housing, the deceleration of the electricity fare stood out (0.31% against 1.63% in November).

Salvador registers the highest IPCA rate in December (1.34%)

Among the regional indexes, the metropolitan area of Salvador recorded the highest rate (1.34%). In Salvador, gasoline rose 15.85% and ethanol increased 8.43% from November to December. Moreover, food prices also increased above the national average in Salvador, hitting 1.50%. The metropolitan area of Belém (0.63%) posted the lowest index this month, once food stayed at 0.58%, a rate below those reported in the other areas. Among the eleven areas included in the IPCA, only Fortaleza did not accelerate the growth rate from one month to the other. The next table shows the monthly figures by area surveyed.

Food and beverages exert the biggest impact on IPCA in 2013

The IPCA closed the year of 2013 at 5.91% and stood 0.07 percentage points above the rate of 5.84% relative to 2012. Among the groups of products and services surveyed, Food and Beverages recorded the highest rate (8.48%), whereas the group of Communication posted the lowest index (1.50%). The following table shows all the groups surveyed:

The price of food has been significantly increasing in the last years. Despite its drop in 2013 (8.48%) in relation to 2012 (9.86%), Food and Beverages represented the highest rise among the groups and exerted the strongest influence on the IPCA in 2013. By holding 2.03 percentage points, food accounted for 34% of the index.

The expenditure with food is a significant part of the budget of families (24.57%) and increased in all the areas surveyed, especially in the metropolitan area of Recife (9.47%), followed by Porto Alegre (9.36%) and Rio de Janeiro (9.34%).

Food away from home exerted strong pressure, once its price rose 10.07% in 2013, even more than the rate of 9.51% in 2012. By expanding 9.49%, the item meals away from home led the individual influences over the IPCA in 2013 (0.47 percentage points). As showed in the table, the majority of items related to food away from home increased their prices, not only meals.

Even so, some food products became cheaper in 2013, as showed in the following table: 

Personal Expenses ranked in the second position among the groups. Families started to spend 11.26% more on services provided by domestic workers. In addition to domestic workers, other items pressed this group: cigarettes (15.33%), manicurist (11.01%), hotel (10.81%), dressmaker (7.03%) and hairdresser (8.05%).

Having stood regularly above the IPCA in the last years, the group of Education closed 2013 at 7.94%, not too far from the rate of 7.78% recorded in 2012. Monthly tuitions of regular courses rose 8.22%, whereas those of other courses (language, computers, etc.) hit 9.29%.

Household Articles significantly increased (7.12%) compared with 2012 (0.84%), when items of this group were exempt from or less taxed by the Tax over Manufactured Products (IPI). The prices rose again in 2013, mainly due to the progressive increase of the tax. Household Appliances became 9.05% more expensive than in 2012, when the rate was 0.26% only. In addition, repair and maintenance services of domestic articles rose 7.15% in 2013, above the rate of 5.15% in 2012.

The expenditure with health insurance were even higher, due to the increase of 8.73% in the subscriptions. In addition to health insurance, medical appointments (11.77%), dental appointments (9.74%), hospitalization and surgery services (7.80%), as well as medicines (4.70%) and personal hygiene products (6.58%) pressed the group of Health and Personal Care, which closed 2013 at 6.95%, one percentage point above 2012 (5.95%).

The other groups posted figures below the IPCA in 2013 (5.91%). Although above the rate of 0.77% registered in 2012, Communication closed 2013 at 1.50%, recording the lowest figure among the groups this year.

Transportation, which is the group with the second bigger weight in the budget of families (18.86%), changed 3.29%. This group strongly influenced the IPCA this year, once it stood well above the rate of 0.48% recorded in 2012. In addition to fuels becoming 0.72% cheaper in 2012, the prices of new cars reflected the reduction of the IPI and fell 5.71%, a movement more intensely followed by used cars, which started to cost 10.68% less, on average.

In 2013, the group of Transportation pointed out relatively high increases in fuels and cars. The liter of gasoline closed the year 6.53% higher at the pump, mostly due to the adjustment of 4.00% at the refineries since November 30. Although not returning to the original level, the prices of new cars rose again, closing the year 3.52% higher as a result of the increase of the IPI, among other factors.

The Public Transportation items closed the year below the figures of 2012, except for interstate bus fares, which were adjusted at the end of 2013. Urban bus fares closed 2013 quite stable (0.02%), due to the street demonstrations by mid-year demanding fare reduction. As a consequence, previously granted adjustments were cancelled in some areas, while other areas did not practice any adjustment at all. In the end, only two areas increased the prices: Fortaleza (10.00%) and Curitiba (6.74%).

By impacting -0.52 percentage points the IPCA, electricity exerted the most significant downward pressure, as a result of the average reduction of 15.66% in the fares. The drops were concentrated in January and February 2013, when the price changes of electricity in the IPCA reflected the average reduction of 18% in the fares in force since January 24. As a result, the expenditures with Housing stood at 3.40% and below the rate of 6.79% of 2012, even with the rise in other items like, for example, residential rent, which became 12.01% more expensive.

The change of 5.38% in the Wearing Apparel articles was below the rate of 5.79% of 2012. The biggest changes were registered in children´s (6.20%) and women´s (5.92%) wearing apparel.

Recife tops IPCA in 2013 (6.86%)

Among the regional indexes, the highest rate was recorded in the metropolitan area of Recife (6.86%), in which the prices of food hit 9.47%, the highest figure among the areas surveyed. The lowest index was registered in Salvador (5.03%), due to the stability of the group of Housing (0.00%). The highlights were electricity (-28.03%) and residential rent (6.88%), which performed well below the overall figure (12.01%), as well as the drop of 7.14% in the prices of urban bus fares. The table below shows the indexes by area surveyed:

IPCA has been calculated by IBGE since 1980. It refers to families with monthly income of one to 40 minimum wages, whatever the source, and it encompasses nine metropolitan areas in the country, besides the municipalities of Goiânia and Brasília. In order to estimate the index of the month, the prices collected from November 28 to December 30, 2013 (reference) were compared with the prices in force from October 30 to November 27, 2013 (base).

INPC changes 0.72% in December

The National Consumer Price Index - INPC recorded a change of 0.72% in December, 0.18 percentage points above the figure of November (0.54%). As a result, the index closed 2013 at 5.56%, below the rate of 6.20% relative to the previous year. In December 2012, the INPC was at 0.74%.

Food products stood at 0.80% in December, whereas the November´s rate was 0.54%. The group of non-food products changed 0.69% in December against 0.54% in November.

Among the regional indexes, the metropolitan area of Salvador recorded the highest rate (1.05%), in which gasoline rose 15.85% and ethanol increased 8.43% from November to December. Moreover, food prices also increased above the national average in Salvador, hitting 1.41%. Belém and Brasília registered the lowest indexes in December (0.47% for both).  The table below shows the indexes by area surveyed.

The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) closed the year of 2013 at 5.56%, below the rate of 6.20% in 2012. In 2013, food products rose 8.03% and non-food products, 4.54%. The figures by group were: 

As to the regional indexes, the highest rate was recorded in Fortaleza (6.94%) and Recife (6.93%). The rate was mostly pressed by rental in both places: Recife (17.28%) and Fortaleza (15.40%), as well as the group of Food and Beverages, which closed 2013 at 9.01% in Recife and at 8.85% in Fortaleza. The lowest index was registered in Salvador (4.71%), due to the drop of 0.14% in the group of Housing (0.00%). The highlights were electricity (-28.01%) and residential rent (6.88%), which performed well below the overall figure (12.11%), as well as the drop of 7.14% in the prices of urban bus fares. The table below shows the indexes by area surveyed.

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