Brazil’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.81% in February 2026, its lowest level since April 2024, down from 4.44% in January and slightly above market expectations of 3.77%. The deceleration was largely driven by weaker price increases in food and beverages (1.8% vs. 2.2% in January) and housing (5.7% vs. 10.0%). In housing, the main factor was electricity, with prices rising 9.4% compared with 27.3% in the previous month, reflecting favorable base effects.
On the other hand, inflationary pressures intensified in several categories: transportation (2.5% vs. 2.4%), health care (5.7% vs. 5.6%), personal expenses (6.0% vs. 5.8%), and education (6.5% vs. 6.0%).
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.7%, the strongest rise in a year. The largest contributions came from education (5.21%) and transportation (0.74%). Within education, regular course fees climbed 6.2%, reflecting the typical price adjustments implemented at the beginning of the academic year. In transportation, airfares jumped 11.4%.
