The new public price increase just came

The National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) rose by 0.71% in March this year. In this issue of Notícias Concursos just released, you will see that compared to the previous month, the index slowed down, as it had a 0.84% ​​variance in February. IPCA is Brazil’s official inflation.

In short, the term inflation refers to General price increase of goods and services in the economy. like him, When the rate of inflation rises, money begins to buy fewer goods and hire fewer servicesBecause the increase in inflation reduces the purchasing power of the consumer.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the main objective of the IPCA is to “measure the inflation of a group of products and services sold in retail stores, referring to the personal consumption of households, Income ranges between 1 and 40 minimum wageWhatever the source of income.

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which is in charge of the survey, released the information on April 11. a The result was slightly lower than expected by financial market analystswhose median forecast is for inflation of 0.77% in March.

With this score added, the variance accumulated by the IPCA in the past 12 months has lost a lot of steam, changing from 5.60% to 4.65%.

Although it is declining in the annual cumulative rate, the rate is still above the central target set by the National Monetary Council (CMN), for 2023, which is 3.25%. However, it should be noted that the rate may slow down further throughout the year, i.e. it may remain within the target set for this year.

Price increases continue to spread across the country

IBGE revealed that eight of the nine product and service groups surveyed recorded a rise in their prices in March, as they had in the previous two months.

The highlight was the transport group, whose strong variance had a bigger impact on inflation in Brazil last month.

Check below the difference recorded by the groups surveyed by the IBGE:

• Transportation: 2.11%
• Health and personal care: 0.82%
• Housing: 0.57%
• Communication: 0.50%
• Personal expenses: 0.38%
• Clothing: 0.31%
• Education: 0.10%
• Food and drink: 0.05%
• Household Items: -0.27%

IBGE revealed it The Transportation Group exerted the greatest influence on the IPCA in March, and the impact on inflation increased by 0.43 percentage points (r). This means that the group captured 60.5% of the inflationary advance in the month.

In short, group prices rose due to the resumption of PIS/Cofins tariffs on petrol and ethanol. It was the highlight gasolinewhich increased by 8.33% in the month, creating the single largest impact on inflation in the country, which is 0.39 pp.

The International Statistical Institute (IBGE) revealed that there was also an increase in ethanol prices (3.20%). On the other hand, decreases were recorded in vehicle gas (-2.61%) and diesel oil (-3.71%). Airfare prices, which fell 9.38% in February, fell 5.32% in March.

“results gasoline Ethanol was mainly affected by the return of federal tax collection at the beginning of the month, which was put in place under the temporary measure 1157/2023. Therefore, there were expectations that the PIS / COFINS group would be back on these fuels from March 1, ”explained Andre Almeida, Research Analyst.

Other groups also stand out

The group that had the second largest impact on inflation in March was Health and personal carecontributing 0.11 points to the increase in IPCA for the month.

In short, health plan prices rose 1.20%, which boosted the group. In contrast, personal hygiene items increased by 0.72% in March, compared to 2.80% in the previous month. Cosmetics prices increased by 4.80%, while skin care products prices decreased by 2.42%.

The third largest impact in March was for the group Living, which contributed 0.09 points to the increase in the IPCA. Namely, the main impact came from residential electrification (2.23%), which increased inflation in Brazil by 0.09 points.

The only negative variation was recorded by the household goods group (-0.27%), which affected the IPCA by -0.01 pp), mainly televisions (-2.15%) and personal computers (-1.08%), which led to a lower rate.

Inflation has increased in all 16 locations surveyed

In March, the IPCA rating rose in all 16 regions surveyed, which recorded an increase in the prices of products and services, as it did in February.

In short, the widespread progression shows that Brazilians had to spend more in March to buy items or rent services, than in February.

Check below the inflation rates recorded at the locations surveyed in February:

• Porto Alegre: 1.25%
• Brasilia: 1.11%
• Curitiba: 1.03%
• Guyana: 1.02%
• Bethlehem: 0.84%
• Victory: 0.84%
• Sao Luiz: 0.73%
• Aracaju: 0.70%
• Campo Grande: 0.68%
• Rio de Janeiro: 0.64%
• Recife: 0.62%
• Sao Paulo: 0.58%
• Rio Branco: 0.54%
• Lifesaver: 0.44%
• Belo Horizonte: 0.39%
• Strength: 0.35%

The highlight of March was Porto Alegre, where it topped the national rankings, after being only the 10th highest in February. In the capital, Rio Grande do Sul, it rises at gasoline Residential Electricity (10.63%) and Residential Electricity (9.79%) boosted inflation in the month.

“The lowest difference was recorded in Fortaleza (0.35%), affected by a decrease of 17.94% in tomatoes and a 2.91% decrease in whole chicken,” according to the IBGE.