Inflation in Argentina continues to give no truce and reached, in March, 104.3% in the 12-month period, 1.8 percentage points above the interannual measurement of February, reported this Friday (14) the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec).
In the third month of the year, inflation reached 7.7%, accelerating in relation to the rate of 6.6% in February and above the expectations of the private market (7%) in the last survey carried out by the country’s Central Bank.
“Inflationary processes tend to have an exponential tendency when there is no stabilization plan, even more so if there is an electoral cycle in between like the one approaching in Argentina,” explained economist Diego Giacomini, director of the consultancy firm Economía y Ethics, referring to the uncertainty generated by the October presidential election, which includes a primary process in August.
Last month’s goods rose by 7.8% compared to February, while services increased by 7.4%, numbers that total 105.7% and 100.2%, respectively, considering the accumulated result in 12 months.
Among the increases recorded in March, those of education (29.1% monthly and 96% interannual), due to the start of the school year, clothing and footwear (9.4% and 118.8%, respectively) stand out. , coinciding with the change of season, and food and non-alcoholic beverages (9.3% and 106.6%), due to higher prices for meat, dairy products and eggs, according to Indec.
“We know, this hurts us, worries us, affects daily life and that of the whole family,” wrote the spokeswoman for the presidency, Gabriela Cerruti, on her Twitter account.
“The number we see today represents the worst moment of the impact of the war on international prices and the worst drought in the country’s history”, she argued, claiming that “this was the worst moment and that a downward trend began”.
Consumer prices had accumulated an increase of 94.8% in 2022, in a strong acceleration compared to the 50.9% verified in 2021.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), inflationary pressures will remain high in Argentina. In South America, the country ranked second among the highest projected price increases in the latest World Economic Outlook report prepared by the institution, with an inflation of 98.6% in 2023, only behind Venezuela, which has a projection of 400%. .
“We expect inflation to remain high and at very high levels. Having an adjusted monetary policy, as well as a fiscal policy that is in line with what is in the program supported by the fund, would be particularly important”, said this week the deputy director of the IMF research department, Petya Koeva.
The last forecast made by the private sector commissioned monthly by the Argentine Central Bank pointed out that annual inflation in the country will be 110% at the end of this year and 90% in 2024.
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