MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil: Some retail prices show sharp increases in June

Fewer public holidays in June drove airline ticket prices down, an IBGE expert explained

June's inflation in Brazil recorded a sharp increase due to significant adjustments in the retail price of potatoes (14.9%) and long-lasting milk (7.43%) among other items, Agencia Brasil reported Wednesday citing the latest Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

“As far as long-life milk is concerned, this lower supply is related both to the off-season, mainly in the Southeast and Midwest regions, and to adverse weather in the South of the country. In the case of potatoes, the water harvest ended in May and the so-called dry harvest began. However, the volume coming in from the dry season hasn't been as significant yet and that's why the supply of potatoes was lower,” IBGE researcher André Almeida explained.

Overall, food went up 0.44% in June, with the purchase of food for consumption at home becoming 0.47% more expensive while eating out rose by 0.27%.

Other items that had a considerable impact on inflation in June were gasoline (0.64%), water and sewage (1.13%), and perfumes (1.69%).

Despite price rises for several items, June's IPCA (0.21%) was lower than May's (0.46%). Airline tickets went down 9.88% after a 5.91% increase. Also falling in June were papaya (17%) and onions (7%).

“In May we had a few public holidays, especially Corpus Christi at the end of the month, so there was this rise. Now in June, prices have fallen compared to May. It's really a reflection of market dynamics, possibly because of the higher prices in May,” Almeida pointed out.