Inflation measured by the Weekly Consumer Price Index (IPC-S), from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), was 0.74% in March. The rate surpasses that of February, which was 0.34%.
The increase was driven mainly by transport, whose inflation rose 2.39 percentage points (pp), from 0.43% in February to 2.82% in March. Housing (0.34 pp, up from 0.60% to 0.94%) and health and personal care (0.12 pp, up from 0.84% to 0.96%) groups also had rises.
The group of expenses with food changed from a deflation (fall in prices) of 0.03% in February to an inflation of 0.15% in March, thus showing an increase of 0.18 pp.
Fall
Four groups of expenses had a drop in the inflation rate. The sector that combines education, culture and recreation, which had already presented deflation in February (-0.80%), had a price decrease of 1.90% in March, that is, a reduction of 1.10 percentage points.
Three groups of expenses showed a reduction, but continued to show inflation: miscellaneous expenses (-0.85 pp, going from 1.01% to 0.16%), communication (-0.37 pp, from 0.67% to 0.30%) and apparel (-0.25 pp, falling from 0.36% to 0.11%).
The IPC-S is calculated based on prices collected weekly in seven Brazilian capitals: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Recife and Porto Alegre.
