Consumer price in Brazil rose by 0.84% in the first half of February from the corresponding period of the previous month, well above the market expectations of 0.6% to pick up from the 0.20% increase in the earlier period, marking the sharpest increase in one year. Prices soared for transportation (1.72% vs -0.13% in mid-January) amid a 5.39% surge in public transportation fares and a 1.38% increase in fuel prices. Prices also accelerated sharply in education (5.20% vs 0.05% in mid-January). In the meantime, consumer price increase displayed more habitual patterns for food and beverages (0.20% vs 0.31%) and housing and utilities (0.06% vs -0.26%). From the previous year, consumer prices rose by 4.1%, remaining below the Brazilian central bank’s upper threshold of 4.5% to mark the lowest since June 2024.
