IPCA rises 0,60% and inflation almost reaches its peak.
Aided by a reduction in electricity rates, the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) slowed its rise in February, but the result was still above market expectations; over 12 months, the IPCA has accumulated an increase of 6,31% and is approaching the upper limit of the target of 6,5%.
RIO DE JANEIRO, March 8 (Reuters) - Assisted by the reduction in electricity rates, the National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) slowed its rise in February to 0,60 percent, compared to the previous month, but the result was higher than expected by the market, which was pressured by education prices.
Thus, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) this Friday, the IPCA accumulated an increase of 6,31 percent last month, compared to 6,15 percent previously.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 0,49 percent increase last month, according to the median of 39 analysts, with projections ranging from 0,38 to 0,56 percent. For the next 12 months, expectations were for a 6,20 percent increase.
According to IBGE, electricity bills were 15,17 percent cheaper in February, reflecting the reduction in tariffs promoted by the government, with a negative impact of 0,48 percentage points on the index. Without this, the IPCA would have registered inflation above 1 percent for the month.
This result offset the increases in rental values (2,26 percent) and condominium fees (1,33 percent), contributing to the 2,38% drop in the Housing group in February.
On the other hand, the Education group registered the highest increase in February, at 5,40 percent, contributing 0,24 percentage points to the index. According to IBGE, the result reflects the adjustments made at the beginning of the school year, especially the 6,91 percent increase in tuition fees for regular courses, the item with the greatest individual impact in the month, at 0,19 percentage points.
The Food and Beverages group, which has been weighing on inflation indicators, slowed its rise to 1,45 percent in February, compared to 1,99 percent in January, with an impact of 0,35 percentage points on the month's IPCA and accounting for 58 percent of the index.
The Personal Expenses group, according to IBGE, registered a monthly increase of 0,57 percent in February, much lower than the 1,55 percent seen in January.
With this result, the official inflation gauge moved even closer to the government's target ceiling for this year -- 4,5 percent, with a margin of 2 percentage points above or below. Faced with this scenario of increased pressure, the Central Bank has already acknowledged that inflation is unlikely to converge to the center of the target this year, although it also does not believe that it will exceed the ceiling at any point during 2013.
On Wednesday, the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) kept the Selic rate at 7,25 percent per year, but left the door open for future interest rate hikes.
February's IPCA result came in below its preliminary figure, the IPCA-15, which registered an increase of 0,68 percent last month. In January, the IPCA had registered an increase of 0,86 percent.
(Reporting by Diogo Ferreira Gomes and Walter Brandimarte; Text by Camila Moreira; Editing by Patrícia Duarte)