The Extended Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15) for September was -0.37%. This was the second consecutive IPCA-15 deflation. In August, the index was -0.73%.  

The IPCA-E, which is the cumulative IPCA-15 in the quarter, was -0.97%.  

In the year, the IPCA-15 accumulated a high of 4.63% and, in 12 months, of 7.96%, below the 9.60% registered in the 12 previous months. In September 2021, the rate was 1.14%. Only three of the nine IPCA-15 groups had price drops: Transportation (-2.35%), Communication (-2.74%) and Food and Beverages (-0.47%).  

Despite the deflation in the general index, the prices of only three of the nine groups of products and services surveyed declined in September. The main influence came from Transportation (-2.35%), with an impact of -0.49 percentage points (pp) on the month. In addition, there was a decrease in the prices of Communication (-2.74%) and Food and Beverages (-0.47%), with impacts of -0.14 pp and -0.10 pp, respectively.

Among the highs, the biggest change came from Wearing Apparel (1.66%), which accelerated in relation to August (0.76%). Also noteworthy is the group Health and Personal Care (0.94%), which had the second highest change and the greatest positive impact (0.12 pp) on the September index. The other groups were between 0.12% for Education and 0.83% for Personal Expenses.

The drop in Transportation is due to the decline in fuel (-9.47%). Ethanol (-10.10%), gasoline (-9.78%), diesel fuel (-5.40%) and vehicular gas (-0.30%) had their prices reduced. Gasoline had the most intense negative impact (-0.52 pp) among the 367 surveyed sub-items. It is worth noticing that there was a reduction in the price of the gasoline sold to distributors by R$0.18 per liter on August 16th and R$0.25 per liter on September 2nd.

Also in Transportation, there was also a decrease in urban buses (-0.08%), due to the reduction in ticket prices on Sundays in Salvador (-0.82%), effective on September 11th.

Among the hikes, airfare stands out (8.20%), rising again after falling 12.22% in August. Important subitems such as voluntary excess (1.74%), registration and license (1.71%) and car repair (0.62%) are still on the rise.

The most intense drop in the IPCA-15 of the month came from the Communication group (-2.74%), influenced by the reduction in landline telephony (-6.58%) and mobile telephony (-1.36%) and also by Internet access combos (-10.57%) and telephony, Internet and pay-TV combos (-2.72%). In addition, there was a drop in the prices of devices (-0.99%). Complementary Law 194/22, enacted at the end of June, set a limit on the maximum ICMS rate on fuel, electricity and communications.

Another group with a decrease in September was Food and Beverages (-0.47%), driven by food at home (-0.86%). Soybean oil (-6.50%), tomatoes (-8.04%) and, mainly, long-life milk (-12.01%) contributed to this. Despite the fall in September, milk prices still accumulate high of 58.19% in the year. The major positive contributions among food for consumption at home came from onions (11.39%), chicken pieces (1.64%) and fruits (1.33%).

Food away from home increased from 0.80% in August to 0.59% in September. While snacks (0.94%) changed close to the previous month (0.97%), meals slowed from 0.72% to 0.36%.

Among the six groups on the rise in the month, Wearing Apparel stands out (1.66%). The prices of women's apparel (1.83%), men's apparel (1.78%) and kidswear (1.52%) rose again more intensely. In addition, footwear and accessories (1.58%) also increased by more than 1%, and jewelry and bijou (0.98%) had a positive change, after falling 0.36% in August.

In Health and Personal Care (0.94%), the highlights were personal hygiene items (1.28%) and health plans (1.13%). In addition, pharmaceutical prices rose 0.81% and contributed with 0.03 pp to the IPCA-15 of September.

After falling 0.37% in August, the Housing group rose 0.47% in September, driven by bottled gas (0.81%), residential rent (0.72%) and electricity (0.41% ). In Belém (10.52%), the tariff per kWh was increased by 14.74%, as of August 7th.

Another subitem with a rise in September was piped gas (0.30%), due to increases in two areas: in Rio de Janeiro (0.13%), the rise of 0.20% became effective on August 1st; in Curitiba (1.95%), there was a 2.26% increase in residential tariffs as of August 9th.

Nine of the 11 areas that make up the IPCA-15 had drops in September. The smallest change occurred in Recife (-0.93%), influenced by the fall in gasoline prices (-13.85%). The biggest change was in Belém (0.50%), driven by residential electricity (10.52%).

To calculate the IPCA-15, prices were collected between August 13 and September 14, 2022 (reference) and compared with those in force from July 14 to August 12, 2022 (base). The indicator refers to households with income from 1 to 40 minimum wages and covers the Metropolitan Areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador and Curitiba, in addition to Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology used is the same as the IPCA, the difference lies in the price collection period and geographic scope.