MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina's Indec to gauge CPI differently

The Indec finalized in March all the technical and methodological developments for the new CPI, Francos pointed out

Argentine Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos announced Wednesday that a new methodology for calculating the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to measure inflation more accurately is to be implemented shortly by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec), pending institutional review and an awareness campaign.

The update, the first since 2016 under former President Mauricio Macri, will replace the 2004/2005 consumption basket with data from the 2017/2018 National Household Expenditure Survey, reflecting modern consumption patterns like digital services and urban transport.

Key changes also include increased weight for housing (9.44% to 14.5%), transportation (11% to 14.3%), and communication (2.83% to 5.2%), while food (26.96% to 22.7%) and health (8.03% to 6.4%) will decrease.

The launch, initially planned for 2024, was delayed due to economic volatility, and final approval from the Economy Ministry is still required.

Opposition parties criticized the government for lack of transparency, while Francos emphasized the administration’s focus on reducing public expenditure and fiscal deficits.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a statistical measure used to track changes in the average prices of a fixed basket of goods and services consumed by households, serving as a key indicator of inflation.

“The agency continues to carry out technical analyses regarding price stability to ensure compliance with international recommendations and to guarantee that the modifications are not introduced in atypical periods,” Francos explained.