Economy

Inflation in Brazil slows down in May

Food and beverages pulled down the country’s official inflation rate

Kelly Oliveira

Published on 07/06/2019 - 10:46

Brasília

Brazil’s official inflation rate, as measures by the National Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA), increased 0.13 percent in May and stood 0.44 percentage points lower than April (0.57%). This was the lowest result for May since 2006 (0.10%). The rate was reported at 0.40 percent in the same month last year.

The reduction in prices was published today (Jun 7) by the government’s statistics institute IBGE.

The variation stands at 2.22 percent year-to-date, and added up to 4.66 percent in the 12-month period, therefore below the 4.94 percent seen in the 12 months prior.

The four groups of products and services surveyed were reported to have faced deflation in May. The most significant negative impact (-0.14 percentage points) on May’s IPCA was seen in food and beverages (-0.56%), which had went up 0.63 percent in April. Deflation was also observed in household articles (-0.10%), education (-0.04%), and communication (-0.03%).