Industry prices changed 2.37% In March 2026 compared to February. In this comparison, 18 out of 24 industrial activities increased their prices. The cumulative index over 12 months remained negative, at -1.54%. The cumulative index in the year was 2.53%.

The Producer Price Index (IPP) of the Mining and Manufacturing Industries measures the evolution of the prices of products "at the factory gate", free from taxes and freight, and encompasses the broad economic categories.

In March, 18 out of 24 industrial activities investigated in the survey showed a positive change in prices compared to the immediately previous month, following the sign of the change in the general industry index. Em

Likewise, 11 activities had presented higher average prices in February compared to the previous month.

The four most intense increases in March were: mining and quarrying industries (18.65%); other chemicals (5.03%); oil refining and biofuels (4.24%); and computer equipment, electronic and optical products (2.50%).

In the comparison between March and February prices, mining industries were the most prominent sector in the aggregate result. The activity influenced by 0.81 percentage points (p.p.) out of the 2.37% change of the general industry. Other activities that also stood out were food, with 0.45 p.p. of influence, oil refining and biofuels (0.41 p.p.) and other chemicals (0.40 p.p.).

The cumulative index in the year, which compares the prices of the reference month to those of December 2025, reached a change of 2.53%. Among the activities that showed the biggest changes in the cumulative index in the year in March 2026, the following stood out: mining and quarrying industries (19.58%), other chemicals (7.09%), printing (4.29%) and basic metals (3.88%).

Still from the perspective of the cumulative index in the year, the main influences were recorded in mining and quarrying industries: 0.84 p.p., other chemicals: 0.55 p.p., oil refining and biofuels: 0.30 p.p. and basic metals: 0.26 p.p.

In the cumulative index in 12 months, calculated by comparing the prices of March 2026 to those of March 2025, the IPP reached -1.54%. In February, this indicator was at -4.39%.

The sectors with the four biggest price changes in the comparison of March with the same month of the previous year were: printing (18.61%); mining and quarrying industries (11.59%); food (-6.74%); and electrical machines, appliances and materials (6.70%).

From this same perspective, the sectors with the greatest influence on the aggregate result were: food (-1.69 p.p.); oil refining and biofuels (-0.60 p.p.); mining and quarrying industries (0.51 p.p.); and other chemicals (-0.31 p.p.).

Among the broad economic categories, the monthly result of March (2.37%) had the following impact: -0.18% change in capital goods (BK); 3.75% in intermediate goods (BI); and 0.95% in consumer goods (BC), with the change observed in durable consumer goods (BCD) being -0.24%, while in semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (BCND) it was 1.19%.

The main influence among the Broad Economic Categories was exerted by intermediate goods, whose weight in the composition of the general index was 54.46% and accounted for 2.02 p.p. of the 2.37% change in mining and manufacturing industries. Completing the list are consumer goods, with an influence of 0.37 p.p., and capital goods, with -0.01 p.p.. In the case of consumer goods, the influence observed in March is divided into -0.02 p.p., which was due to the change in the prices of durable consumer goods, and 0.38 p.p. associated with the change in semi and non-durable consumer goods.

In the cumulative index in the year, the change reached -2.14%, in the case of capital goods; 4.07% in intermediate goods; and 1.34% in consumer goods – with durable consumer goods accumulating a change of -0.35%, while semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods, 1.67%.

In terms of influence on the cumulative result in the year, capital goods were responsible for -0.17 p.p. out of 2.53% recorded in the general industry until March this year. Intermediate goods, in turn, accounted for 2.18 p.p., while consumer goods exerted an influence of 0.51 p.p. on the aggregate result of industry, an influence that is divided into -0.02 p.p. due to changes in the prices of durable consumer goods and 0.54 p.p. caused by changes in semi and non-durable consumer goods.

In the cumulative index in 12 months, the price change of capital goods was -1.47% in March 2026. The prices of intermediate goods, in turn, changed -2.42% in this one-year period and the change in consumer goods was -0.25%, with durable consumer goods showing a price change of 1.47% and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods, of -0.58%.

With regard to influences on the aggregate result in 12 months (-1.54%), consumer goods were responsible for -0.09 p.p. in March. There was also an influence of -0.11 p.p. of capital goods and -1.33 p.p. of intermediate goods.

The result of consumer goods, in particular, was influenced by 0.09 p.p. by durable consumer goods and by -0.18 p.p. by semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods, the latter with a weight of 83.67% in the calculation of the consumer goods category.

Sector highlights

Mining and quarrying industries: in March 2026, mining and quarrying industries recorded a price increase of 18.65% compared to February, the highest growth observed since February 2021, when the activity had increased 27.91%. The sector stood out in all indicators analyzed.

From February to March, the increase of 18.65% resulted in an influence of 0.81 p.p. on the aggregate result of 2.37%. In the cumulative index in the year, the sector presented a change of 19.58%, the highest one among the activities and the highest value for a month of March since 2022, exerting an influence of 0.84 p.p. on the total 2.53%. Finally, in comparison with March 2025, a change of 11.59% was observed, with an influence of 0.51 p.p., representing, respectively, the second and third most significant results among all the activities in this indicator.

The sector's performance was driven mainly by the products “crude petroleum oil” and “iron ore and its concentrates, except pelletized/sintered,” which have the largest weights in the activity. Only the product “natural gas, liquefied or in gaseous state” showed a negative result, contributing to mitigating the rise in prices in the sector. Finally, it is worth highlighting that the results observed are in line with the behavior of the foreign market.

Food: after ten negative results in the comparison between the current month and the immediately previous one, the change observed in March was positive (1.90%), the most intense level since April 2025 (1.52%). With the advance in March, the cumulative result for the year moved into the positive field (1.07%, against -0.82% in February). However, compared to March 2025, the change in food prices remained negative, -6.74% (less intense negative change since October 2025, -5.93%).

The highlight given to the sector is due to the fact that it was the third most intense change in module in the comparison between March 2026 and March 2025, the only negative among the four highlighted ones; and, in terms of influence, as it was the second in the transition from February to March, 0.45 p.p. out of 2.37%, and the first in the cumulative index in 12 months, -1.69 p.p. out of -1.54%.

Fresh milk derivatives emerged as the main price hikes in 2026. The increase in “sterilized / UHT / long life milk” mirrored the increase in the price of fresh milk, at a time of lower supply and consistent demand from dairy producers.

In the month, among the products that most influenced the sectoral result, only one contributed negatively to prices: “roasted and ground coffee.” The drop in the price of coffee was justified as a response to the lower cost of the raw material, fresh coffee, which, in turn, was in line with a stock, at the door of the new harvest, at a level that exceeded demand.

In a situation similar to that of milk, the higher price of animals for slaughter was reflected in the price of meat, as is the case of “fresh or chilled beef.” Once again, the increase in the price of the raw material, sugarcane, translated into a higher price of sugar, in particular “VHP sugar (very high polarization).”

Oil refining and biofuels: the 4.24% increase in sector prices in March broke the behavior that had been recorded over the last eight months, always between -1% and 1% change. It was the highest result since September 2023 (8.25%). Now, the cumulative result in the year reached 3.03%, lower than that observed in March 2025, 3.28%, but, it is worth saying, reversing the negative cumulative result of the first two months. Finally, over a 12-month period, prices in March 2026 were, on average, lower than those in March 2025, a behavior that has been repeated over the last ten months. However, the change of -5.86% in March was the least intense of the year (in February it was -10.22%).

From February to March, the sector's prices showed the third most intense change – in this case, positive – among all those surveyed by the IPP. As a result, it was the third influence on this indicator, 0.41 p.p. out of 2.37%, and in the cumulative index in the year, 0.30 p.p. out of 2.53%, in addition to being the second in the cumulative index in 12 months, -0.60 p.p. out of -1.54%.

“Gasoline, except for aviation,” the second most important product in the sector’s calculation, did not appear, from the perspective of the monthly result, either as a highlight in terms of change or in terms of influence. However, “diesel fuel,” the one with the greatest weight, appeared in both cases, and always with a positive impact. The four products with the greatest influence on the result accounted for 4.19 p.p. out of 4.24%, and among them, “ethyl alcohol (anhydrous or hydrated)” was the only one not derived from petroleum and with a price reduction. If this drop was explained in part by a reduction in demand, the increase in oil derivatives responded to the global conflict involving the USA, Israel and Iran, with the latter blocking one of the main oil transportation routes.

Other chemicals: the chemical sector is the third largest in the IPP calculation, with a weight of 8.07% in March, and had a prominent influence on the reference month. Compared to February, the activity prices increased 5.03%, resulting in a contribution of 0.40 p.p. to the average change of 2.37% in the general industry prices. This was the fourth largest influence among the sectors investigated in the survey. The increases observed between February and March raised the cumulative index in the year to 7.09%. Over the 12-month horizon, the sector's average price change remained negative, with a rate of -3.76%.

The March result was predominantly influenced by the pricing of the escalation of geopolitical tensions that affected trade routes in the Middle East and the prices of key commodities for the sector's production. The premium for the transportation of fertilizer inputs, for example, increased, putting pressure on international references. Defensive positions adopted by global consumers and producers also contributed to rising prices.

In parallel, naphtha — a basic input for petrochemical production — entered an upward trend in the month, following the increase in crude oil prices.

Basic metals: after three months of growth compared to the immediately previous month, prices in the sector once again showed a negative result in March, with a change of -0.28%. Despite this, prices in the basic metals sector closed the first quarter of 2026 with a cumulative increase of 3.88%, which made the sector stand out in the cumulative indicator in the year, among the 24 activities analyzed in the survey, as the fourth biggest change and influence (0.26 p.p. out of 2.53%). On the other hand, the sector's 12-month cumulative indicator showed zero change (0.00%), with prices in March 2026 being, on average, at the same level as those in March 2025.

In the month, of the four products with the greatest influence on the monthly indicator, two showed negative results (“gold for non-monetary use” and “aluminum plates and strips, thicker than 0.2 mm”) and two had positive changes (“flexible tubes and drawn tubes of iron and steel” and “galvanized, zinc-plated or chrome-plated steel coils or plates”). These four products with the greatest influence on this indicator impacted the result of the activity by -0.22 p.p., therefore, an influence of -0.06 p.p. to the other 20 products.

Of these products that stood out in the monthly indicator, those that had a negative change and pushed the sector's result downward were from the non-ferrous metals group. The results of this group are usually linked to foreign stock exchange prices and, this month, they were mainly impacted by the fall in the price of gold, which occurred after months of increases in the commodity which caused it to reach its historical peak at the beginning of the year. This month's reduction was linked to a lower demand for the asset, with investors migrating to public bonds, especially in the United States, which has been keeping interest rates higher than expected as a way of combating inflation caused by the war in the Middle East.

On the positive side, the products that impacted the sectoral result with increases in the month were linked to the production of steel and its derivatives. The change was related to an increase in the price of iron ores (the main input for steel) on the foreign market in the month and a lower steel production in the domestic market at the beginning of the year, which limited the supply of the product. The steel group, for example, changed 0.54% in March and already accumulated an increase of 2.97% in 2026.

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