* Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released the latest consumer price index (IPCA), which shows monthly deflation of 0.68% in July. Ibge confirmed that the -0.68% monthly rate was the lowest since records began in 1980, and is down from +0.67% in June. Annual inflation stood at 10.07%, down significantly on the 11.89% recorded in June. Ibge attributed the historic monthly drop in inflation to the decision by state-controlled oil company Petrobras to reduce fuel prices on 20 July, lowering the price of petrol by R$0.20 (US$0.04) per litre. This, Ibge stated, saw petrol prices fall by 15.48%, and also had knock-on effects on prices for transport (-4.51%) and energy bills (-5.78%). According to Ibge researcher Pedro Kislanov, “it was these two groups, the only ones with negative variation on the index, which pushed the result down.”
End of preview - This article contains approximately 149 words.
Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article
Not a Subscriber?
Choose from one of the following options