Brazil’s Consumer Price Index (INPC) rose 0.5% in August, compared to 0.73% in July, reports the government statistical bureau (IBGE). In August 2003 the INPC rose 0.18%.
With the August result, cumulative inflation for families with incomes between one and eight minimum wages for this year is at 4.41%, compared to 8.08% during the same period in 2003.
However, for the last 12 months, it is slightly higher this year: 6.64%, compared to 6.30% in 2003.
According to the IBGE, Food prices rose 0.76% in August, compared to 0.53% in July. Non-Food product prices were up 0.39%, compared to 0.82% in July.
The biggest jump in prices was in Rio de Janeiro, up 1.12%. The lowest price increase was in Salvador, up 0.04%.
The INPC, which measures inflation for Brazil’s low income population, was 0.40% in May. Food prices, which have the heaviest weight in the budgets of families covered by the index, remained practically stable, increasing only 0.02%, while non-food prices rose 0.57%, less than the 0.77% variation they experienced in April.
The index encompasses families with a monthly income of between one and eight minimum wages (between 83 and 664 US dollars) and includes the metropolitan areas of Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife, Belem, Goiânia, and Brasília.
Agência Brasil
