Inflation in Argentina reaches 138.3% per year two weeks before the presidential elections

Inflation in Argentina reaches 138.3% per year two weeks before the presidential elections

This Thursday, the Central Bank decided to increase the interest rate again, which stood at 133% per year (11% per month), an index that, despite being high, is still below inflation.


Inflation in Argentina reached 138.3% per year in September, a month in which prices rose 12.7%, the National Statistics Institute reported this Thursday (12), less than two weeks before the presidential elections .

The consumer price index (IPC) is released before the first round of elections, on October 22, when Economy Minister Sergio Massa, the government candidate, will face the ultraliberal Javier Milei, favorite in the polls, and the conservative Patricia Bullrich.

Milei proposes dollarizing the economy and ending the Central Bank, an idea rejected by the other two candidates with chances, according to polls.

September's monthly inflation index was the highest of the year and was double that of January, at 6%. The sectors that recorded the biggest increases were clothing and footwear (15.7%), leisure and culture (15.1%), and food and non-alcoholic drinks (14.3%). The accumulated result for the year up to September registered an increase of 103.2%.

Inflation in Argentina, one of the highest in the world, jumped with widespread price increases of 12.4%, after the government devalued the peso by around 20%.

This Thursday, the Central Bank decided to increase the interest rate again, which stood at 133% per year (11% per month), an index that, despite being high, is still below inflation.

"High-frequency indicators continue to reflect a slowdown in the pace of increase in the general price level since the peak in the third week of August, and suggest that monthly inflation would show a significant slowdown in October", highlighted, in a note, the Central Bank .