Rio, February 25, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Weekly Consumer Price Index (IPC-S), compiled by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) on the basis of prices observed between January 19 and February 18 in 12 metropolitan regions of the country, registered a 1.55% increase. This result indicates a 0.28% retreat in consumer price inflation in comparison with prices observed through February 12, and it consolidates the process of a let-up in inflation during the month of February.

The FGV's coordinator of economic analyses, Salomão Quadros, explained that the increase recorded by the IPC-S continued to be determined by price readjustments occurring in the Transportation group (4.57%), responsible for 41% of the variation that occurred during the period, despite reductions in the rates for urban public transportation (from 9.00% to 7.60%) and fuels and lubricants (from 7.37% to 5.97%). In the Food group, which rose 1.77%, the FGV perceived continuity in the trend towards a gradual deceleration, even though the decline of 0.33% was less than the 0.46% registered in the previous week. (DAS)