MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay’s March inflation, 0.77% and 1.29% in first quarter

Uruguay’s consumer inflation climbed 0.77% in March according to the release from the country’s Statistics Office. In the first quarter of 2009, retail prices have risen 1.29% and 7.53% in the last twelve months.

March’s percentage was higher than forecasted, 0.6%, and was boosted mainly by shopping for children’s utensils returning to school which in Uruguay reopen in March.

Equipping children for school was 4.7% dearer in March and 8.91% in the first quarter. School fees were up 4.3%, while books and other stationery 1.9%, and extra curricular courses, 7.8%.

Other items which recorded increases include Food and beverage, 0.31%; clothing and footwear, 2.46%, transport and communications, 0.77%. In the food items, meats were up 3.8%; fresh fruit was down 4.9% and fresh vegetables and potatoes fell 3.7%.

“Although prices have kept a descending evolution in March compared to last year and previous months, we will have to wait for the tendency to effectively consolidate”, said Uruguay’s Central Bank president Mario Bergara.

He added that “we are in a context of mixed pressures: international prices have apparently ceased to drop, and some have even risen modestly; too many factors are circumstantial but influence expectations”.

The 2009 first quarter consumer prices index, 1.29%, compares favourably with 2.86% in 2008; 3.31% in 2007 and 2.37% in 2006.

Based on first quarter, annualized inflation would be 5.3% which is in the range of the Uruguayan Central Bank target, 3% to 7%.