Airline tickets soar in October and cause inflation to rise for the fourth month in a row

Inflation in Brazil reached 0.24% in October, marking the fourth consecutive month of positive rates, according to data from the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) released by IBGE this Friday (10). The biggest impact of this result was observed in airline ticket prices, which rose 23.70% compared to the previous month, significantly influencing the indicator.

Year-to-date inflation reached 3.75%, and 4.82% in the last 12 months. The Central Bank’s target for 2023 is an IPCA of 3.25%, with a tolerance of 1.5 percentage points up or down.

Of the nine groups of products and services investigated, eight showed inflation in October, including transport (0.35%) and food and beverages (0.31%), which have a significant weight in the index. In the transport group, in addition to air tickets, the highlights were increases in taxi fares (1.42%) and diesel fuel (0.33%). Gasoline fell 1.53%, being the main negative impact on the index.

André Almeida, research manager, highlights that air tickets increased for the second consecutive month, possibly due to the “increase in the price of aviation kerosene and the proximity of the end-of-year holidays”.

In food and beverages, which had experienced four consecutive deflations, food at home rose 0.27%. Items such as potatoes (11.23%), onions (8.46%), fruits (3.06%), rice (2.99%) and meat (0.53%) drove this increase. The lower supply of rice due to the off-season and rain in producing regions impacted prices.

However, some basic items recorded a drop in October, such as long-life milk (-5.48%) and chicken eggs (-2.85%). Eating away from home (0.42%) became more expensive, with an increase in meals (0.48%) and snacks (0.19%).

The only group to show deflation was communication (-0.19%), driven by falls in the prices of telephone handsets and fixed-line telephone plans. Year-to-date, inflation in the country is 3.75%, while in the last 12 months, it reached 4.82%. The economic scenario and price variations continue to be closely monitored in light of these numbers.