Data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics show that the country’s National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) increased by 0.70% in February, up from 0.33% in January.
Most of the monthly inflation was driven by seasonal price adjustments at the start of the school year and higher transportation costs.
Over the past 12 months, inflation has declined from 4.44% to 3.81%.
Despite the latest acceleration, the IPCA had increased by 1.31% in February 2025, indicating a milder monthly rise this year.
Two sectors accounted for most of the February result: transportation and education.
New school-year modifications cause education costs to soar
With a monthly fluctuation of 5.21%, the Education category accounted for around 44% of the total inflation reading and contributed 0.31 percentage points to the February index.
Regular course fees, which increased 6.20% as educational institutions executed yearly tuition adjustments usually applied at the start of the academic year, were the main cause of the increase.
Among the biggest rises were:
• The cost of attending high school increased by 8.19%.
• An 8.11% increase in elementary school fees
• The rise in preschool education was 7.48%.
Transportation costs add further pressure
At 0.15 percentage points, the Transportation group’s 0.74% increase had the second-biggest effect on the February index.
The group’s overall increase was largely driven by a strong 11.40% increase in flight prices. Other noteworthy increases were:
• A 5.62% increase in voluntary auto insurance
• The 1.22% increase in auto repairs
• The 1.14% increase in urban bus fares
Due to differences in local policies, public transportation modifications differed greatly between cities.
Due to free public transportation on Sundays and holidays, bus fares in Brasília decreased by 9.54%, whereas in Curitiba, bus rates decreased by 1.27% on the same days.
Cities like Belém, on the other hand, continued to see slight rises.
Local modifications were also reflected in train and metro fares.
Following pricing adjustments made in early January, metro and train rates in São Paulo increased by 0.94%.
Due to local legislative changes, taxi fares also went up in a number of cities, including Porto Alegre, Salvador, Fortaleza, and Rio de Janeiro.
Fuel prices decreased by 0.47% overall in spite of these increases, relieving some of the strain on transportation expenses.
Housing and healthcare costs rose
After declining by 0.11% in January, the housing category increased by 0.30% in February.
The rise was mainly driven by water and sewage tariffs, which increased by 0.84% following adjustments in several cities, including Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Campo Grande, and São Paulo.
Brazil’s green tariff flag remained in effect, indicating relatively stable power generation conditions, although household electricity prices increased by 0.33%.
In contrast, piped gas prices fell by 1.60% due to tariff reductions in Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro.
Within the Health and Personal Care group, health insurance (0.49%) and personal hygiene products (0.92%) contributed to the group’s overall increase of 0.59%.
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