Argentina deliberately understates inflation forecasts
2023.01.12 06:42
Argentina deliberately understates inflation forecasts
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – According to the median response from an analyst poll conducted by Reuters, Argentina’s inflation is expected to rise by 5.2% in December. However, the government hopes to beat that and keep the increase in consumer prices below 5% in the final month of 2022.
The nation in South America is struggling with widespread inflation, which is expected to reach 955 percent by the end of the year, making it one of the world’s highest levels. The skyrocketing costs had a significant negative impact on growth, as well as on people’s wages and spending power.
Economy Minister Sergio Massa said in a recent interview that monthly inflation would not exceed 5% in December and that the goal was for it to be around 3% in April.
However, projections for the consumer price index for the final month of 2022 ranged from 4.9% to 6.3%, according to estimates from 19 domestic and international analysts.
Thursday afternoon, Argentina’s official statistics agency will release data on December inflation.
According to economist Lucio Garay Mendez of consultancy EcoGo, prices of fruits and vegetables were rising throughout the month, while price increases for meat slowed.
Due to a slowdown in the economy and price cap agreements on retail products, economists anticipate that monthly inflation will remain around 5% beginning in 2023.
According to economist Isaias Marini of consultancy Econviews, “but risks remain elevated, and the shortage of (U.S.) dollars may translate into a further escalation of parallel (market) dollars, leading to higher inflation.”
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