Producer prices in Brazil rose 0.06% in February after three consecutive months of declines, reported the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) this Tuesday.
The result led the Producer Price Index (IPP) accumulated over 12 months to a deflation of 5.16%.
Among the 24 activities analyzed, IBGE pointed out that 14 showed price increases. The sectors that contributed most to the increase in the general index were metallurgy (0.12 percentage points), extractive industries (0.09 pp) and oil refining and biofuels (0.08 pp).
In the metallurgy sector, prices rose 2.03% compared to January, the highest rate for the activity since May 2022 (+2.05%).
“There was an increase in iron ore prices, after having registered a drop in a very hostile international environment”, said IBGE manager Alexandre Brandão.
Prices in the extractive industry increased by 1.79%, while oil refining and biofuels increased by 0.74%.
At the other end, the biggest highlight was the 1.42% drop in the food sector, with an influence of -0.35 points on the general index. The result of this activity was impacted by the drop in the prices of products derived from soy, rice and fresh beef, according to IBGE.
“There was the arrival of the soybean and rice harvest and an increase in the number of cattle for slaughter. This makes prices cheaper for the industry”, explained Brandão. “If it weren’t for the negative result of the food sector, which accounts for around 25% of the industry, the index would have grown more in February.”
The IPP measures the variation in product prices at the “factory gate”, that is, without taxes and freight, of 24 activities in the extractive and processing industries.
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