In March 2022, industry prices grew 3.13% compared to February, a figure higher than that of the comparison between February/2022 and January/2022 (0.54%).

In March, the price of 16 of the 24 surveyed industrial activities showed positive price changes compared to the previous month.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for Mining and Quarrying and Manufacturing Industries measures the "factory-gate" prices of products, excluding taxes and freight, and covers the major economic categories: capital goods, intermediate goods and consumer goods (durable, semi-durable and non-durable goods).

In March 2022, the prices of mining and quarrying and manufacturing industries - IPP changed, on average, 3.13% when compared to February 2022, a number higher than the comparison between February/2022 and January/2022 (0.54%).

In March, 16 of the 24 industrial activities surveyed showed positive price changes compared to the previous month, following the positive change in the general industry index. In February, the number of activities with positive change was 15.

The four activities with the greatest changes, in absolute terms, between February and March, were: petroleum refining and biofuels (10.84%); mining and quarrying industries (10.69%); other chemical products (5.75%); and footwear and leather products (-3.28%).

Oil refining and biofuels was the most prominent industrial sector in the composition of the aggregate result, accounting for 1.23 percentage points (pp) of influence on the 3.13% change in general industry. In this same aspect, other activities that also stood out were food, with 0.71 pp of influence, mining and quarrying industries (0.61 pp) and other chemical products (0.57 pp).

With the March price changes, the cumulative indicator in the year reached a change of 4.93%. In 2021, the cumulative rate until March was 13.92%. The value of the cumulative rate in the year up to this reference month is the second highest ever recorded for a month of March since the beginning of the time series, in 2014.

Among the activities that, in March/2022, had the greatest changes in the cumulative result in the year, the following stand out: mining and quarrying industries (31.36%), petroleum refining and biofuels (15.23%), printing (6.75%) and beverages (6.45%). The main influences were registered in petroleum refining and biofuels (1.70 pp), mining and quarrying industries (1.53 pp), food (0.83 pp) and other chemical products (0.48 pp).

The cumulative change in 12 months was 18.31% in this reference month. In the previous month (February/2022), this same indicator had registered a rate of 20.02%. The sectors with the four major price changes were: petroleum refining and biofuels (41.97%); other chemical products (37.50%); fabricated metal products (24.38%); and manufacturing of machinery and equipment (23.81%). The most influential sectors were: petroleum refining and biofuels (4.28 pp); food (4.11 pp); other chemicals (3.29 pp); and motor vehicles (0.93 pp).

Among the Major Economic Categories, the price change in March compared to February 2022 had the following impact: 0.32% change in capital goods; 3.65% in intermediate goods; and 2.80% in consumer goods, with the change observed in durable consumer goods being 0.36%, while in semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods it was 3.28%.

The main influence among the Major Economic Categories was exerted by intermediate goods, whose weight in the composition of the general index was 59.22% and accounted for 2.15 pp of the 3.13% change in mining and quarrying and manufacturing industries. The others were consumer goods, with an influence of 0.96 pp, and capital goods with 0.02 pp. In the case of consumer goods, the influence observed in March is divided into 0.02 pp,  due to the change in prices of durable consumer goods, and 0.94 pp associated with the change of semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods.

The cumulative change in the year for the Major Economic Categories reached 3.48%, in the case of capital goods; 5.94% in intermediate goods; and 3.50% in consumer goods - with durable consumer goods accumulating a change of 1.86%, while semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods, 3.82%.

In terms of influence in the cumulative index of the year, capital goods accounted for 0.24 pp of the 4.93% verified in the general industry until March of this year. Intermediate goods accounted for 3.48 pp and consumer goods exerted an influence of 1.21 pp, with 0.10 pp for durable consumer goods and 1.10 pp for semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods.

In the cumulative indicator in 12 months among the Major Economic Categories, the change in prices of capital goods was 16.70% in March/2022. The prices of intermediate goods, in turn, changed by 19.66% in this one-year interval and the change in consumer goods was 16.34%, with durable consumer goods showing a price change of 13.32% and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods of 16.93%.

With regard to the influences on the result of the last 12 months among the Major Economic Categories, with a weight of 59.22% in the calculation of the general index, intermediate goods accounted for 11.51 pp of the 18.31% cumulative change in 12 months in industry, in this reference month. In the March 2022 result, there were also influences of 5.65 pp of consumer goods and 1.15 pp of capital goods.

In March, the following sectors stood out:

Mining and quarrying industries: in March, prices rose 10.69% compared to the previous month, the third consecutive increase and the first positive double-digit result since February 2021 (27.91%). With that, the cumulative result in the year was 31.36%. In the comparison with the same month of the previous year, the change is negative (-0.03%).

The sector stands out for being the second largest change in comparison with the previous month and the first in the cumulative result. In addition, it was the third biggest influence compared to the previous month (0.61 pp, in 3.13%) and the second in the cumualtive result (1.53 pp, in 4.93%).

Food: in March, food prices changed 3.01% compared to the previous month. It is the highest result since October 2020 (4.67%). With this increase, the cumulative rate in the year reached 3.50% and 17.42%, in the comparison of March 2022 with March 2021. The sector had the second biggest influence compared to the previous month (0.71 pp, in 3.13%) and in the cumulative index in 12 months (4.11 pp, in 18.31%) and the third in the cumulative index in the year (0.83 pp, in 4.93%).

The four most influential products compared to the previous month account for 1.10 pp of the chaneg of 3.01%. Among them, only one, "VHP (very high polarization) sugar", had a negative impact on the result. This movement is compatible both with specific market conditions, as well as with the appreciation of the real against the dollar (4.4% in relation to February and 12.1% throughout 2022).

In the case of "soybean extraction residues" and "frozen poultry meat and offal", prices followed the increase in demand, particularly from the international market. In the case of "sterilized / UHT / Long Life milk", the supply of fresh milk was below normal, which has a direct impact on costs.

Petroleum refining and biofuels: in March, prices in the sector changed by 10.84% ​​compared to February, the most intense change since November 2021 (7.45%) and the most intense since March 2021 (16.68 %), being the first in two digits in the period. The cumulative index in the year jumped from 3.96% in February to 15.23% in March. In the 12-month period, the change was 41.97%, 7.48 pp lower than that of February.

Due to the behavior of prices, the sector was highlighted both in terms of change and influence, in the three indicators calculated. It was the first in the monthly and annual change, and the second in the cumulative index of the year. It was, in turn, the main influence in the three cases: 1.23 pp, in 3.13% (compared to the previous month); 1.70 pp, at 4.93% (cumulative index in the year); and 4.28 pp, at 18.31% (cumulative rate in 12 months). Finally, it is worth noting that the sector, when compared to all the others in industry, is the second that presented the highest change since December 2018 (base of the current series), 122.27%, losing to minig and quarrying industries (147.56 %).

Other chemical products: the chemical industry, in March, showed a change of 5.75%, the highest value since October 2021, when it reached 6.42%. The results observed are mainly linked to international prices, with an impact on the acquisition costs of raw materials, especially products related to fertilizers and herbicides.

The main responsible for the result in the month are the products of the group “manufacture of inorganic chemical products”, which presented an average change of 9.27% ​​in the month, followed by the products of “manufacture of agricultural pesticides and household disinfectants”, which had a change of 11.15% in the month - the greatest in the entire series surveyed in the IPP. The “manufacture of resins and elastomers” group had a change of -1.80%.

As for the four products that most influenced the result (5.31 pp, out of 5.75%), there was a price increase in all of them: “NPK fertilizers”, “herbicides for agricultural use”, “manure /mineral/chemical fertilizer with nitrogen and potassium” and “mineral or chemical fertilizers or phosphates”. The other 35 products surveyed in the activity had, on average, a positive result of 0.44 pp in the final change of the activity.

The sector stood out, in comparison with the 24 activities surveyed, for having the third largest change of prices in the month, the second in the cumulative index of 12 months, the fourth influence in the month and in the cumulative rate of the year and the third biggest influence in the cumulative result in 12 months.

Motor vehicles: in March, the change in the sector, when compared to the previous month, was 0.28%, close to that observed last month, which was 0.30%. This was the 21st consecutive positive result in this indicator. As a result, in the first quarter of 2022, the sector accumulates a change of 2.86%. The cumulative change in the last 12 months was 13.52%, below the 14.82% observed in February and has been decelerating since January, which had also been the highest result of the series for this indicator, with 15.94%.

The activity of motor vehicles stood out, among all the sectors analyzed in the survey, as it had the fourth greatest influence on the cumulative result in 12 months, with 0.93 pp in 18.31% of the General Industry.

The economic group analyzed for the activity, “manufacture of cars, pickup trucks and utilities”, presented, in March, a change of 0.19% in comparison with February. Following the sector's trend, this is the 21st consecutive positive result in this indicator. In addition, the group accumulates, in these first three months of 2022, a change of 2.00%, while, in the last 12 months, it presents a result of 11.43%. It is worth noting that all these results are below the sector average.