Argentina’s March Inflation Slows Despite Yearly Uptick

In March, Argentina experienced a notable slowdown in inflation to 11%, yet the year’s cumulative figure climbed to 51.6%.

This information came to light in a recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report by INDEC.

The report highlights third consecutive month of inflation deceleration following December’s currency devaluation-triggered spike.

Initially, December recorded a staggering 25.5% rise in prices, which eased to 20.6% in January and further to 13.2% in February.

Nonetheless, the annual inflation rate escalated to an alarming 287.9%, a peak not seen since March 1991.

Furthermore, core inflation, which omits fluctuating components, decreased to 9.4%, hitting single digits for the first time in four months.

The education sector saw the sharpest increase at 52.7%, propelled by hikes in tuition fees as the new academic year began.

The communication sector also faced a significant rise of 15.9%, primarily due to higher costs for telephony and internet services.

Utilities including housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels climbed by 13.3%, mainly driven by increased electricity charges.

In contrast, the smallest changes were observed in restaurants and hotels, up only 8.3%, and household equipment and maintenance, which rose by 5.0%.

Weeks earlier, Economy Minister Luis Caputo suggested that the government expected March inflation to hover around 10%.

Despite actual figures slightly exceeding this, Caputo later claimed, based on internal data, that food prices were actually deflating in early April.

Analysts, however, had forecasted March inflation to settle around 12.5%, according to the Central Bank’s Market Expectations Survey.

Looking forward, after the Central Bank’s recent interest rate cut, the future of Argentina’s inflation trajectory remains uncertain.

The bank’s statements indicate that core inflation will be closely watched, especially considering upcoming adjustments in regulated service tariffs.