Brazil's official inflation rate weakened in June, but electricity bills are once again putting pressure on consumers' wallets, according to data released by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
According to the agency, the IPCA (National Consumer Price Index) rose 0,16% last month, down from 0,58% in May. Year-to-date, the index reached 3,36%, while inflation over 12 months slowed to 4,64%, compared to 4,72% in the immediately preceding period.
Despite the slowdown in the index, residential electricity was once again the sub-item with the greatest individual impact on the IPCA.
Electricity prices rose 1,53% in June, driven by the maintenance of the yellow tariff flag, which adds R$ 1,885 for every 100 kWh consumed, in addition to tariff adjustments applied by concessionaires in Porto Alegre, Curitiba, and Belo Horizonte.
IBGE also highlighted that the 5,61% increase recorded in Rio de Janeiro reflected the return of the 15,10% tariff adjustment authorized by... ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) to one of the state's distributors, according to a ruling published in June.
The pressure from energy on inflation, however, was partially offset by the fall in food and fuel prices. The Food and Beverages group, which represents 21,75% of the IPCA (Brazilian Consumer Price Index), fell by 0,24% and was the only one of the nine groups surveyed to show a negative variation, contributing -0,05 percentage points to the month's result.
Fuel prices, on the other hand, registered an average reduction of 0,48%, helping to contain the rise in the index. Although inflation slowed in June, the accumulated rate of 4,64% over 12 months remains above the central target pursued by the Central Bank, of 3%, whose tolerance range varies between 1,5% and 4,5%.
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