The household electricity bill pushed inflation in September to 0.44%, according to the survey of the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), released today (9) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The increase was 0.46 percentage points in relation to the previous month (-0.02%), influenced by the housing group (1.8%), which accounts for the adjustment in residential electricity tariffs.
During the period, expenditure on energy consumption went from -2.77% in August to 5.36% in September. The food and beverage group also contributed to the accelerated IPCA (0.5%), which registered an increase after two months of consecutive falls.
For the year, accumulated inflation is 3.31%, and in the last 12 months, the index is 4.42%.
“The change of tariff flag from green in August, where there was no additional charge on electricity bills, to red level one, due to the level of the reservoirs, was the main reason for this increase. The red flag – level one – adds R$ 4.46, approximately, for every 100 kWh consumed”, explained the research manager, André Almeida, in a note released by IBGE.
Food consumption in Brazilian families’ homes recorded an increase of 0.56%, impacted by increases in the price of beef and fruits such as oranges, lemons and papayas.
“Talking specifically about meat, the strong drought and dry climate were factors that contributed to the decrease in supply. It is important to remember that we had declines observed throughout almost the entire first half of 2024, with a high number of slaughters. Now, the off-season period is being intensified by the climate issue”, explained Almeida.
In turn, in terms of food away from home, the change (0.34%) was close to that of the previous month (0.33%).
The item personal expenses had the sharpest drop in the survey (-0.31%), which means an impact of -0.03 percentage points. The cinema, theater and concerts sub-item recorded a drop of 8.75%, reflecting -0.04 percentage points on the index as a whole.
“In September, cinema week took place, a national campaign in which several chains around the country offered promotional prices over the course of a week. These promotions contributed to the drop of more than 8% in this subitem”, added the IBGE analyst.
