No end in sight for Brazil’s mounting inflation

In what was the biggest jump for April since 1996, Brazil’s inflation hit 1.06 percent over the last month, according to national statistics agency IBGE. The numbers diminish hopes that inflation will fade in the near future and take the 12-month rise in consumer prices to 12.13 percent, leaving citizens exhausted after almost 18 months of spiraling costs.

The biggest villains this time around — similar to previous months — were food prices and transport. Staples such as UHT milk, tomatoes, potatoes, and soybean oil became between 8.24 and 18.28 percent more expensive in April.

And inflation in supermarkets is unlikely to let up anytime soon, with sanctions against Russia making fertilizers exceedingly expensive.

Tied into this rise in food prices is the ever-climbing cost of diesel, which jumped 4.74 percent last month. Meanwhile, hikes to the price of gasoline and ethanol — 2.48 and 8.44 percent, respectively — are likely to have a much more direct impact on Brazilians’ pockets as they go to fill up their cars.

State-controlled gas major Petrobras announced a further 8.87 percent increase in the price of diesel sold to distributors, meaning more hikes at the pumps are to be expected in the coming weeks and months.

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