Price Indices
A comprehensive overview of price patterns in Brazil is offered by a wide array of price indices calculated and reported by government agencies and foundations in Brazil.
Getúlio Vargas Foundation (Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV)
The Getúlio Vargas Foundation, a think-tank and independent higher education institution operating in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília, calculates the longest series of price indices reported on a regular basis in Brazil. Since 1944 it has provided monthly indices based on information collected nationwide on wholesale prices (IPA), consumer prices (IPC-BR) and the national cost of civil construction (INCC), the latter with nationwide coverage since 1985. A composite price index (IGP-DI) is calculated as a weighted index of these three indices. In 1989 FGV introduced the IGP-M, an index with the same structure as the IGP-DI but a different data-collection period. As well as full monthly releases, two 10-day previews are reported. Another index in the IGP group is the IGP-10, released monthly, which also uses the same structure as the IGP-DI, again differing only with regard to the length of time over which the data is collected.
Brazilian Institute of Economy
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística - IBGE)
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, a federal government agency, calculates the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) and the Enlarged Consumer Price Index (IPCA), both released on a monthly basis. The IPCA is used as the reference for the inflation target.
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
Economic Research Foundation, São Paulo University (Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas da Universidade de São Paulo - FIPE-USP)
FIPE-USP has been calculating the monthly Consumer Price Index (IPC-FIPE) retroactively since 1939.
Other price indices are also available. A price index for a representative food basket is calculated daily by the Consumer Protection Agency (PROCON) and the Inter-Trade Union Statistics and Socioeconomics Department (DIEESE).