Preliminary official inflation figure stands at 0,14% in August.

Vitor Abdala - Reporter for Agência Brasil

The preliminary official inflation rate, measured by the National Consumer Price Index-15 (IPCA-15), was 0,14% in August of this year. The rate is lower than those observed in July of this year (0,17%) and in August of last year (0,16%). According to data released today (20) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the IPCA-15 accumulates rates of 4,32% in the year and 6,49% in the 12-month period.

The main reason for the decline in the rate was food, which experienced deflation (a drop in prices) of 0,32% in the preliminary August figures. According to IBGE, many food products became cheaper during this period, such as potatoes (-20,42%), tomatoes (-16,47%), carioca beans (-5,49%), vegetables (-5,13%), soybean oil (-3,17%), and black beans (-3,11%).

Also contributing to the lower inflation in the preliminary August figures were the deflations in the groups of personal expenses (-0,67%), communication (-0,84%) and clothing (-0,18%).

On the other hand, the increase in expenses for housing (1,44%) and transportation (0,2%) prevented a larger drop in the inflation rate. In the housing group, inflation was driven by price increases in cleaning products (1,47%), water and sewage rates (1,37%), condominium fees (1,36%), residential rent (0,66%), and labor for minor repairs (0,66%).

The IPCA-15 for August was calculated based on prices collected between July 15th and August 13th.