80% of Brazilians believe that the cost of living will increase in the coming months

About 80% of Brazilians believe that the cost of living in the country should increase in the next six months. The finding comes from the survey “Inflation: Consumer Perceptions”, which was released this Friday (17) by Ipsos. The survey was attended by a thousand people. The survey shows that 15% of the Brazilian population disagrees that the cost of living will increase and 5% did not know how to answer.

The perception of Brazilians is that it will be necessary to spend more money, in the coming months, to pay for the same products and services currently offered. Respondents took into account their spending on transport, housing, food, clothing, health, entertainment and public utility services such as water and piped gas.

The survey details that the transport sector should be the biggest villain in the Brazilian budget. According to the data, the expectation is that displacement, whether by public transport or by using the passenger app, will show a high in the coming months.

“The economic crisis, deepened by the pandemic, increased the feeling of unease with their own financial condition, especially in the middle and lower classes of the population. A perception that we noticed much more intense, for example, in South American countries”, comments Ipsos CEO in Brazil, Marcos Calliari.

lower purchasing power

In addition to believing that the cost of living in the country will be higher in the coming months, 80% of Brazilians expect that family income will not rise in a manner compatible with the rise in prices. And the main factors responsible for this are inflation and currency devaluation.

“We had a very long period with too low interest rates, which greatly affected the exchange rate, that is, the real devalued against the dollar, which led to an increase in the price of imports and commodities, such as oil. And this, together with the supply shocks, has placed Brazil in a situation where inflation has become very high and is above average”, highlighted Reginaldo Nogueira, general director of Ibmec São Paulo and Brasília.

Expectation in other countries

Pessimism about the economy is not limited to Brazil, according to the Ipsos survey. According to the survey, the populations most fearful about the economic future are residents of Russia, Chile, the Netherlands, Romania and Colombia. Residents of these places believe that economic power will be reduced in the next six months.

By contrast, most respondents in Japan, China and Malaysia do not expect an increase in the cost of living in the short term. Ipsos listened to around 20,000 people, aged between 16 and 74, from 30 countries.