RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The largest influence on the result of the Nationwide Consumer Price Index-15 (IPCA-15) for June was the transport sector, which affected the index by 0.19 percentage points. The sector’s prices increased by 0.84% in June, compared to 1.80% in May, mainly due to airline tickets (11.36%), gasoline (8.77%) and voluntary car insurance (4.2%).
The data are part of the survey released on Friday, May 24, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The IPCA-15 is a preview of the official inflation rate.
The slowdown in the transport sector compared to May was due to the decrease in the price of fuels, which fell by 0.55% in June. In May, they had increased by 2.05%. While diesel oil increased by 2.83% in June, ethanol and gasoline decreased by 4.41% and 0.27%, respectively.
Despite the monthly withdrawal of some items, fuel prices are one of the current targets of President Jair Bolsonaro, who fears that inflation will affect his popularity in an election year.
After Petrobras announced the price adjustment last week, Jair Bolsonaro’s government, Congress, and the Supreme Court (STF) had criticized the state-owned company, whose shares plunged more than 7% on Jan. 17.
In the cumulative values over 12 months, the transport sector reaches a high of 20.51%. The highest increases are for airline tickets (123.26%), transport vehicles (64.03%), diesel fuel (51.04%), voluntary car insurance (39.91%), gas for vehicles (34.33%), fuel for vehicles (27.44%), gasoline (27.36%), public transport (21.73%) and ethanol (21.21%).