MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay's Central Bank reports 0.2% inflation in September

Price contractions in various agriculture items helped buffer the overall impact on consumers

According to a report from Paraguay's Central Bank (BCP) released Wednesday in Asunción, the South American country's inflation in September stood at 0.2% for a cumulative 2.9% so far this year, which represented a yoy setback from the 2.5% in the same period of 2023.

 Interannual inflation stood at 4.1%, lower than August's 4.3% but higher than the 3.5% of the previous year, the BCP also noted. September's figures alone were lower than the 0.5% variation in the same month of the previous year.

Last month's Consumer Price Index (CPI) was driven by increases in most basic basket products. However, some contractions in agricultural items helped buffer the overall impact on consumers.

Price increases were recorded in beef and bakery products, flour, pasta, coffee, yerba mate, fish, condiments, oils, and non-alcoholic beverages. But fresh vegetables and tubers, dairy products (mainly cheese), sugar, and poultry meat posted decreases that somehow balanced out the overall figures. Beef went up due to lower supply following a reduction in slaughtering, it was explained.

Other upward adjustments were registered in automobiles, mobile telephones, computers, furniture, household appliances, services, bars and restaurants, healthcare, hotels, clothing, footwear, housing, cleaning, leisure, and car insurance, among others.

In addition, slight increases were recorded in liquefied gas for domestic use and coal.