Food prices rise, driving up September inflation
Have you noticed the increase in spending on grocery shopping? The food and beverage expenditure group saw a price increase of 2.28% in September, and was the main driver of the official inflation in the month, of 0.64%. The increase in food prices was greater than that observed in August, of 0.78%.
Among the items that presented the most significant increases in their values are:
- soybean oil (27.54%);
- rice (17.98%);
- take (11.72%);
- long-life milk (6.01%);
- and meats, 4.53%.
Why have food prices gone up?
The increase in food prices was mainly due to meals at home, which rose by 2.89%.
Furthermore, the devaluation of the national currency stimulates exports. When more is exported, the quantity of products available for the domestic market also decreases, which results in higher prices.
There is also a greater internal demand for food, due to government aid programs, such as emergency aid. This internal demand also influences the price of products.
Other sectors that also saw an increase
Another group of expenses with a significant impact on inflation in September was transportation (0.70%), whose price increases were driven by gasoline (1.95%), diesel oil (2.47%), ethanol (2.21%) and airfare (6.39%).
The following groups also saw price increases: household items (1%), housing (0.37%), clothing (0.37%), communication (0.15%) and personal expenses (0.09%).
On the other hand, health and personal care had deflation (price drop) of 0.64%, mainly due to the health plan item, whose prices fell 2.31% due to decision of the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS) decided to stop increases in health insurance prices until the end of the year. Education also had deflation of 0.09%.
