MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine August inflation at 2% pushed by food prices, say private estimates

Economist Carlos Melconian, “annual inflation 23% cruise speed has an additional passenger”

A surge in fresh food prices has pushed Argentina’s August consumer inflation to one of the highest of the year, 2% over the previous month, according to private consultant estimates and published in the Buenos Aires press.

The percentage is higher than the average of the previous quarter when inflation averaged 1.5% monthly and above the 1.6% of July, according to the Consumer Price index released by the Argentine Congress and which is an average of the estimates of eight of the country’s most respected economic consultants.

Economist Carlos Melconian said that “in August, to the cruise speed of inflation running at an annual 23%, an additional passenger has climbed and that is the price of food”.

According to the association of Free Consumers, Adelco, the basic basket which includes 38 mass consumption items increased 1.77% in August, accumulating 12.14% in the first eight months of the year

However a second Adelco basket which is made up of 28 items with leading brands, the average price in August was down 3.03%, even when inflation in the last twelve months stands at 13.75%.

“The 2% inflation in August has pushed the year to year (December 2010/December 2011) estimate from 23.8% to 24.3%” said Melconian.

These percentages are in deep contrast with the official Indec releases with year to year estimates of 10 to 11%.

Besides food, other prices which influenced the monthly index are health costs, fuel and communications and home maintenance, plus the new labour contracts.

The official Indec estimate is expected to be released next week as well as the so called ‘congress index’, an average of the eight private consultants, which can’t make public their estimates otherwise they will be exposed to heavy fines, as has happened in several cases.