Consumer inflation
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics measures the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in two ways: the extended national consumer price index and the national consumer price index. The former considers 13 urban areas in the country, where prices are surveyed in 30,000 locations every month and measures the variation in the average cost of living for households earning between one and 40 minimum wages per month. The Central Bank considers the extended national Consumer Price Index when calculating inflation targets.
Health and personal care was the sector that experienced the largest increase when compared to the same period in 2022. Indeed, this sector has had a positive monthly variation since November 2021. Education is another sector experiencing a price increase. Every year, the CPI for education compared to the previous month peaks in February, the month in which the school year begins. This peak has been climbing since 2021 and had its highest value in 2023, at 6.28 percent. By contrast, in August 2023, the sector of food and beverages reported their third consecutive month with deflation. Products such as meat, tomatoes, and potatoes have seen their prices fall during 2023. Thus, food and beverages are one of those sectors responsible for the slowdown in inflation in the country.
How do Brazilians perceive the inflation?
In a survey conducted in 2023, Inflation and the cost of living came fourth on the issues that Brazilians consider to be priorities for Lula's government. While, in May 2023, 45 percent of consumers expected an increase in the price of groceries, in another survey, conducted in September, 40 percent said that they believed their purchasing power would increase in the near future.
Despite the optimism, most citizens claimed that they had felt the increase in the price of goods in the previous six months. Respondents living in southeastern Brazil were the ones who reported feeling the increase the most, while, in the central-western region, 26 percent of respondents admitted having seen a decrease in the cost of goods.
