By Artur Piva
By the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) estimates, the country should have 126.4% inflation in 2023.
The estimate appears in the institution’s latest report on Friday 5.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculates a 94.7% price increase for Argentine consumers in 2022.
In other words: the monetary authority’s projection for Argentina’s inflation shows a worsening scenario in 2023.
The inflationary crisis affecting Argentines’ lives is among the most dramatic on the planet.
Last year, for example, the increase in the cost of living in the country was not higher than that of Zimbabwe and Venezuela – the worst situation on the planet.
According to the BCRA, the prices increase in May will be 7.4%.
Thus, in a single month, the rise in the cost of living in Argentina is greater than the variation for a whole year in Brazil, where the accumulated increase over 2022 was about 5.9%.
Amidst the burst of inflation, the Argentine currency continues to lose steam in 2023.
The country has two values for the exchange rate against the dollar.
The Central Bank registers the official one, and the other is the so-called blue dollar, negotiated according to supply and demand in the parallel market.
Currently, each dollar is worth about 230 pesos at the official rate, according to the Argentine newspaper El Cronista.
The currency, however, is rarely found for purchase at this price.
Thus, the population runs to the parallel market, where US$1 costs around $470 in today’s exchange rate.