MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Study shows inflation slowing down in Brazil

The Ipea Inflation Indicator by income bracket is released monthly.

According to a study released Wednesday, Brazil's inflation in November was below that of October for all income groups.

The increase in prices was driven by food and beverages, transportation, and housing, the survey by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) showed. The Ipea Inflation Indicator by income bracket is released monthly. The survey considers six categories of household income, from “very low” to “high.” IPEA is a federal public foundation linked to the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of Brazil.

In November, the smallest variations were recorded for high-income (0.27%) and very low-income (0.33%) families. In October, inflation in the same brackets had been 1.14% and 0.51%, respectively.

The highest variations were observed in the upper-middle income (0.49%) and middle-income (0.46%) classes. However, even in these classes, inflation was higher in October: 0.64% and 0.61%, respectively.

So far this year, the smallest variation is 4.87% for lower-middle-income families, while the highest (6.27%), was observed for upper-income families. The Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), calculated by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and used as the official inflation index in the country, has registered a variation of 5.13% since the beginning of the year.

In the month of November, food and beverages pressured inflation for all six categories. Moreover, with the readjustment of rents and electricity rates, housing had a significant influence on the variation for very low-income families. For the four intermediate income brackets, there was an impact from the cost of transportation, which is associated with the rise in fuel prices. The highest-income families, on the other hand, were pressured by health-related prices, involving mainly increases in monthly health insurance fees.

The survey also showed that among food and beverages, the most relevant increases were recorded among tubers (10.1%), cereals (0.97%), fruits (2.9%), flour (1.1%), and baked goods (0.73%). On the other hand, there was a drop in the prices of dairy products (-3.3%) and poultry and eggs (-0.51%).

(Source: Agencia Brasil)