In March 2018, the prices of the mining/quarrying and manufacturing industries increased 1.05% in relation to the previous month, a result higher than that of February (0.38%). This was the greatest high since November 2017 (1.40%). Of the 24 activities, 21 presented positive price changes, just as in the previous month. The IPP support material can be accessed on the right side of this page.

The Producer Price Index (IPP) of the Mining and Quarrying and Manufacturing Industries measures the evolution of the "factory gate" prices of products, without taxes and freight. It includes information by major economic categories: capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods (durable, semi-durable and non-durable).

Compared with February 2018, the four largest changes were observed among the products of the following industrial activities: mining and quarrying (4.37%), other chemicals (2.86%), basic metals (1.56%) and wearing apparel and accessories (1.31%).

In terms of influence, in comparison with February, the highlights of March were: chemicals (0.28 pp), food products (0.21 pp), mining and quarrying (0.18 pp) and basic metals (0.13 pp).

In March/2018, the cumulative indicator in the year (March/2018 against December/2017) reached 1.91%, compared to the 0.86% of February/2018. Among the activities that had the largest percentage changes in March/2018, the following stood out: mining and quarrying (8.03%), other chemicals (5.97%), wearing apparel and accessories (5, 46%) and basic metals (4.04%).

In this indicator, the sectors with the greatest influence were: other chemicals (0.58 p.p.), basic metals (0.32 p.p.), mining and quarrying (0.31 p.p.) and motor vehicles (0.18 p.p.).

In comparison with March 2017, the price change in March 2018 was 6.23%, against 5.19% in February 2018. The four largest price changes occurred in the mining and quarrying industries (20.23%), petroleum refining and alcohol products (18.50%), paper and pulp (14.79%) and other chemicals (11.70%). The sectors with the greatest influence in this comparison were petroleum refining and alcohol products (1.87 p.p.), other chemicals (1.11 p.p.), basic metals (0.80 p.p.) and mining and quarrying industries (0.74 p.p.).

In March 2018, the price change of 1.05% against February had the following impact on the main economic categories: 0.72% in capital goods; 1.52% in intermediate goods; and 0.34% in consumer goods, with 0.14% for durable consumer goods and 0.40% for semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods.

The influence of the major economic categories in the general result (1.05%) was as follows: 0.06 pp of capital goods, 0.87 pp of intermediate goods and 0.12 pp of consumer goods. In the case of consumer goods, 0.10 pp was due to price changes observed in semi and non-durable consumer goods and 0.02 p.p. in durable consumer goods.

In March, the cumulative index over the year was 1.91%: 1.34% of capital goods (with influence of 0.11 pp), 3.19% of intermediate goods (1.82 pp) and -0.04% of consumer goods (-0.01 pp). In the latter case, the result was influenced in 0.12 pp by durable consumer goods and in -0.13 pp, by semi- and non-durable consumer goods.

In the annual rate (M/M-12), the price change in the industry reached, in March, 6.23%, with the following changes: capital goods, 5.27% (0.45 pp); intermediate goods, 8.93% (5.02 pp); and consumer goods, 2.15% (0.76 pp), with the influence of durable consumer goods at 0.40 pp and of semi- and non-durable consumer goods at 0.36 pp.

Six sectors were highlights in March

Mining and quarrying industries: this month, prices changed 4.37% in relation to February. As a result, the cumulative change, in the first three months of 2018, stood at 8.03%. In the comparison with March 2017, there was a 20.23% change in the prices of the sector. Thus, Mining and quarrying industries recorded the greatest changes of prices in the three analyzed indicators (M/M-1; cumulative; and month against same month a year ago, M/M-12), for the month of March this year, in the general industry.

The following product prices stood out: "iron ores" and "crude petroleum oil". In terms of influence, the M/M-1 indicator, the cumulative index in the year and M/M-12 of the sector represented 0.18 pp in 1.05%, 0.31 pp in 1.91% and 0.74 pp in 6.23%, over the general industry indicators respectively. 

Food products: in March, the prices of the sector changed, on average, 1.13%. In the series, the first positive result surpassing the present one was July's  2016, 1.74% .In the 21 months separating July 2016 from March 2018, 10 results were positive and 11 negative, but, it is worth saying, the cumulative change in this period was of -3.90%.

In March, after 14 months with negative rates, the cumulative index in the year recoded a positive change of 0.90% (in December 2016, the forth positive rate before March 2018, it had been 8.79%). In the M/M-12 perspective, changes remained negative, as it has happened in the last 10 months; however, the rate is less intense than those seen between December 2017 and February 2018, -2.15% (in December 2017, -7.28%; January 2018, -6.18%; and February, -4.07%).

The sector stood out because, besides being the most relevant sector in the calculation of mining and quarrying industries and manufacturing industries, it also had the second biggest influence in the comparison with March 2018 against February 2018, i. e., the change seen accounted for 0.21 pp in 1.05% (the first activity in influence was Other chemicals, 0.28 pp).

Petroleum refining and ethanol products: the prices of the sector changed, on average, 0.74%, after the rates of January (3.15%) and February (-3.15%) had practically offset each other. Thus, in March the cumulative rate was of 0.63%. In the March 2018/March 2017 comparison, the change was of 18.50%, after having recorded 13.81% in February.

The highlight given to the sector is due to the fact that it came as second in terms of change and as first in terms of influence (1.87 pp in 6.23%), in the perspective of the annual comparison (March 2018/March 2017). The behavior of prices in the sector in the last year took the series of index-numbers to the highest level ever, the last four points are the highest, that of January 2018, 132.46, is the highest, and March's, 129.23, the second highest. 

Other chemicals: the chemical industry in the month of March registered an average change of prices in relation to February of 2.86%, the second highest among the activities analyzed in the survey, completing seven months in a row of price increase (15.97% in this period).

As a  result, there was a positive change of 5.97% in the cumulative index over the year and 11.70% in the last 12 months, very differently from what occurred in March 2017, when the cumulative index in 12 months reached -3.39%.

The products that stood out in influence MoM were: "HDPE", "herbicides for agricultural use","LDPE" and "polypropylene (PP)". Considering the four greatest influences in the cumulative result of the year, the list remains, except for "LDPE", which gets out and is replaced by "ethylene (ethane)". The greatest influences on the results of the last 12 months add to the list "unsaturated propene (propylene)" and "caustic soda or potash", instead of "herbicides for agricultural use" and "HDPE".

The four products that mostly influenced in the month-over-month comparison had an impact on the net positive result of 1.33 pp, in the change result of 2.86% in the month, which means that the other 28 products contributed positively with 1.53 pp.

Basic metals: from February to March 2018, there was a change of 1.56%, the sixth positive change in the seven last months (in January 2018 the change was of -0.06%) and the third greatest positive change among all the changes of the activity analyzed by the IPP. Thus, the activity accumulated in the year a change of 4.04% and in the last 12 months, 10.10% (the 17th consecutive positive change in this type of indicator). An analysis of the index-numbers of the series indicates that, between December 2013 (base of the series) and March 2018, the prices of the sector had a cumulative change of 35.73%.

Among the four products that had the greatest changes of prices, considering the results of month against previous month, all steel derivatives had positive values and just "unwrought aluminum alloys", which is a product of non-ferrous metals, presented a negative value.

Among the products with the highest influence in the result of the month, practically the same products are found, just "carbon steel rebars" gets out and "unrwought non-alloy aluminum" replaces it. Those four products represented 1.43 pp in the month, i. e., 0.13 pp is the influence of the other 18 products.

Motor vehicles: in March, the change seen in the sector was  of 0.20%, when compared to the previous month. That was the seventh positive rate in a row and the 19th of the last 20 months (just August 2017 had a negative price change, of -0.08%). With such a result, the cumulative change of the year reached 1.71%. As a comparison, in March 2017, the cumulative rate was of 0.85%. In the last 12 months, the sector accumulated a change of 5.45%.  

Besides being one of the sectors of biggest weight in the calculation of the general index with a contribution of 11.24% (just behind the food sector with 19.68% and petroleum refining and ethanol products with 11.78%), the activity of motor vehicles stood out among all surveyed sectors, presenting the fourth highest influence in the cumulative change of the year (0.18 pp in 1.91%).

Among the four products of greatest influence in relation to the previous month, three of them had a positive impact on the index: "diesel truck with load capacity above 5t", "engine parts for motor vehicles" and "tractor-truck for trailers and semi-trailers" - all of them are among those with the highest weight in the sector. Just "gearbox for motor vehicles" presented a negative change in the indicator.

The influence of those four products that most exerted an impact on the monthly change was of 0.18 pp, i. e.,  the other 21 products of the activity contributed just with the remainder for the 0.20%monthly change to be achieved.