Published on January 31 by FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics (IBRE), the Weekly Consumer Price Index (IPC-S) showed a variation of 0.69% – 0.10 percentage point (p.p.) above the last published rate. With this result, the 12-month variation in the index was 3.22%. 

Four of the eight expense categories that comprise the index recorded a higher price variation. The main contributing factor was the Education, Reading and Recreation group (1.74% to 2.75%). One of the highlights in this expense category was the formal courses item, which varied from 3.83% to 5.84%.

The following groups also recorded rate variations: Transport (0.85% to 1.12%), Clothing (-0.42% to 0.34%), and Health and Personal Care (0.40% to 0.50%). The following items stand out within these expense classes: urban bus fare (0.78% to 2.08%), clothing (-0.80% to -0.01%), and hygiene and personal care items (-0.30% to -0.04%), respectively. 

On the other hand, the Housing (-0.18% to -0.47%), Miscellaneous Expenses (0.18% to 0.14%), Food (1.27% to 1.23%), and Communication (0.17% to 0.13%) groups recorded drops in prices. The following items were the main drivers of such variation within these classes: household power bill (-2.34% to -4.25%), pet food (1.14% to 0.58%), beef (1.55% to 1.12%), and fixed telephone and internet packages (0.73% to 0.36%), respectively. 

The next calculation of the IPC-S will be released on February 8, based on data collected until February 7. The complete results are available on the website.