Inflation ends 2018 at 3.75%, below the center of the target

Brazil's Broad Broad Consumer Price Index (IPCA) ended the year at 3.75%, well within the target set by the federal government of 4.5% (with an error margin of 1.5 percentage points in either direction). In December, the IPCA stood at 0.15%, the lowest for the last month of the year since the beginning of the Real Plan in 1994. The numbers were released on Friday (January 11) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

The Food and Beverage group, whose prices went up 0.44%, accounted for almost ¾ of the growth of the December IPCA. The Transport and Housing groups, however, pulled the index down, with falls of 0.54% and 0.15%, respectively.

In transportation, the decrease was driven by a 4.25% drop in fuel prices, especially gasoline (-4.80%), diesel oil (-3.45%) and ethanol (-2.70%). In housing, performance was mainly influenced by the fall in the price of electric energy (-1.96%).

The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) showed a variation of 0.14% in December. Next to 2016, this is the lowest rate since the Real Plan. In year-to-date terms, the index stood at 3.43%.