Electricity, with a price reduction of 2.77%, was the item that contributed most to the drop in official inflation – 0.02% – in August this year. Data from the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) were released this Tuesday (10), in Rio de Janeiro, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The drop in the price of electricity can be explained by the return to the green tariff flag in August and by the reduction in tariffs in cities such as São Paulo (-2.43% from July 4, in one of the concessionaires), São Luís (-1.11%, from August 28), Vitória (-1.96%, from August 7) and Belém (-2.75%, from August 7).
With an average price drop of 0.73%, food for home consumption also had a significant impact in August, especially due to the behavior of products such as tubers, roots and legumes (-16.31%) and vegetables and greens (-4.45%).
“The most important factor [para a redução de preços] there was a greater supply of tubers, roots and vegetables, due to milder temperatures at this time of year, which favors the pace of harvesting and increased productivity in the field”, explains André Almeida, researcher at IBGE.
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Gasoline, with a 0.67% increase, was the item that contributed most to preventing a greater drop in the inflation rate in August. With two consecutive adjustments, the fuel has accumulated a 3.84% price increase since July.
Some foods also showed inflation in the month: papaya (17.58%), silver banana (11.37%) and ground coffee (3.70%). Eating out increased by 0.33%.
Other items that saw significant price increases in August were health plans (0.58%) and higher education (1.09%).
