The Communication sector showed growth of 0.82% in January, driven mainly by the increase in the prices of telephone devices (2.61%) and adjustments in services, which affected items such as pay TV (1.34%) and combined telephone, internet and television packages (0.76%).
The Health and personal care segment, which increased 0.70%, the second biggest increase among the groups, was mainly influenced by the increase in personal hygiene products (1.20%) and health plans (0.49%).
In turn, Food and beverages registered a slight deceleration, going from 0.27% in December to 0.23% in January. Food at home changed 0.10%, below the 0.14% observed in the previous month, reflecting specific fluctuations in the prices of some items. For example, long-life milk fell by 5.56% and chicken eggs by 4.48%. In the price of tomatoes, a significant increase of 20.52% and in meat, of 0.84%.
The Housing group recorded a drop of 0.11% in January, driven by the 2.73% reduction in residential electricity, which was the biggest negative impact on the month’s index. The drop in electricity was due to the green flag that was adopted in January, which does not charge additional costs to the consumer.
Still in Housing, water and sewage rates rose 2.56%, due to adjustments in several capitals such as São Paulo, Campo Grande, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro.
