February Inflation in LatAm: Venezuela and Argentina are among the 3 worst in the world

The fiscal and monetary flexibility with which Latin American countries faced the pandemic and post-pandemic meant that many nations that had forgotten entirely what inflation was had to remember it all at once in 2022.

On the other hand, the circumstances only aggravated the dynamics for countries already immersed in this problem.

And how does the movie continue in 2023?

Some countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay seem to be starting to control the problem.

Others have managed to begin a gradual decline, as in the case of Chile.

There is also the case of Colombia, which has not managed to contain prices.

And at the extreme of difficulty are Venezuela and Argentina, where inertia is predominant.

These last two countries, together with Lebanon, make up the club of the three countries with inflation above 100%.

It is estimated that others may be in the same situation, such as Syria.

However, if we restrict ourselves to verifiable data, Venezuela, Lebanon, and Argentina (in that order) are the countries with the highest inflation in the world.

Cuba is also supposed to be undergoing a high inflation regime, but no measurements prove it.

Below, Bloomberg Línea elaborated on the inflation ranking in the region, from lowest to highest:

#18 Panama

Panama continues to have the lowest inflation in the entire American continent after closing February with a monthly rise of 0.03% and a year-on-year increase of 2%.

#17 Bolivia

Despite going through a delicate financial moment, with private reports assuring that the Central Bank reserves are at critical levels, Bolivia has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world and the second lowest in Latin America: it ended February with a year-on-year inflation rate of 2.57%.

The second month of the year was deflationary compared to January in Bolivia: inflation ended at -0.44%.

#16 Ecuador

Ecuador is not experiencing any price surprises either: year-on-year inflation as of February stood at 2.9% (and monthly inflation was 0.02%).

The fourth Latin American country with the lowest inflation is Costa Rica, which closed February with a monthly price drop of 0.85%, bringing year-on-year inflation to 5.58%.

#15 Costa Rica

The fourth Latin American country with the lowest inflation is Costa Rica, which closed February with a monthly price drop of 0.85%, bringing year-on-year inflation to 5.58%.

#14 Brazil

In the region’s leading economy, the inflation problem has been declining.

Brazil closed February with a monthly price rise of 0.84% and a year-on-year of 5.60%.

However, it is impossible to claim victory. February inflation exceeded market expectations (0.8%).

#13 Dominican Republic

The sixth country with the lowest inflation in the region is the Dominican Republic, which closed February with a monthly increase of 0.11% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), while the year-on-year variation stood at 6.38%.

#12 El Salvador

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of El Salvador registered a variation of 6.82% in February 2023 when compared to the same month of the previous year. The monthly increase was 0.59%.

#11 Paraguay

Inflation is also slowly slowing down in Paraguay. In February, the year-on-year rate stood at 6.9% (0.5% monthly).

#10 Uruguay

Uruguay’s February 2023 CPI registered a monthly charge of 1%; over the last 12 months, the increase is 7.55%. The number is still far from the Uruguayan central bank’s target.

#9 Mexico

In Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy, lowering inflation has been challenging. January’s year-on-year rate stood at 7.62%, when the market expected 7.68%, and when it had been 7.91% in January.

On the positive side, the highs of August and September, when Mexico’s year-on-year inflation reached 8.7%, were left behind.

#8 Peru

Peru’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.43% in February, bringing the year-on-year rate to 8.99%, as the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) reported on Wednesday.

#7 Honduras

Annual inflation in Honduras reached 9.8% (1.16% monthly) in February 2023. Year-on-year inflation had been falling in this country but rebounded from January’s 8.9% year-on-year.

#6 Guatemala

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Guatemala registered a variation of 9.92% in February 2023 when compared to the same month of the previous year. The monthly variation was 0.45%.

#5 Nicaragua

February inflation, as measured by the monthly variation of the CPI, was 1.08 percent. Meanwhile, interannual inflation was 11.1%.

#4 Chile

Chile is one of the countries that has been fighting the most against high inflation, but in February, the country had joy since the Consumer Price Index had a monthly decrease of 0.1%. Even so, the year-on-year rate is still above double digits: 11.9%.

#3 Colombia

Colombia’s year-on-year inflation stood at 13.28% in February and was the highest since 1999. Prices increased 1.66% over January.

To top it off, inflation in Colombia has been rising monthly, unlike in other countries, without any reversal.

#2 Argentina

Argentina is the 3rd country with the highest inflation in the world among those for which verifiable data is available. February’s figure showed a monthly increase of 6.6%, which brought the year-on-year rate to 102.5%.

Private projections assure that Argentina may have even higher inflation in March. The country has been experiencing double-digit inflation for 15 years and has just crossed the three-digit mark.

#1 Venezuela

While Venezuela’s latest official inflation figure is from October 2022, a private measurement from the Venezuelan Observatory of Finance estimates that Venezuela’s year-on-year price hike in February reached 537.7%.

This makes it the country with the highest inflation in the world.

There are no credible official data on Cuba, but it is estimated that it is, like Argentina and Venezuela, another country living under a high inflation regime.

With information from Bloomberg