History has left Argentines with more than their share of economic trauma. Having twice suffered destructive bouts of hyperinflation in the late 1980s, they are sensitive to rising prices. When they spot inflation their instinct is to dump the peso and buy dollars.
The consumer price index in Argentina during the month of November increased 0.6% according to the official stats office Indec, which is less than half the percentage released by private estimates through the so called Congress inflation index.
US consumer prices were flat in November as Americans paid less for cars and gasoline, while the 12-month inflation reading fell for the second straight month, which could give the Federal Reserve more room to help a still-weak economy.
United States inflation rate decelerated slightly in August as gasoline prices climbed at a more modest pace and the cost of buying a new car held flat, the Labour Department said on Thursday.
Consumer prices in Uruguay rose sharply again in May, led by steep increases in prices at restaurants and hotels, for housing and for health costs accumulating 8.53% in the last twelve months and 4.34% in the five months of 2011.
Chile’s consumer prices rose 0.3% in April from March, reported the National Statistics Institute. Annual inflation reached 3.2%, down from 3.4% a month earlier, and 1.6% in the first four months of 2011.
UK interest rates have been held again at their record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. There has now been no change to the Bank rate for two years, despite the fact that inflation is currently twice the Bank's target rate.
Gold rose Thursday to a one-month high as rising consumer prices in United States and the UK boosted investor demand for an inflation hedge. Silver touched a 30-year high.
China said on Tuesday consumer prices rose 4.9% in January, a lower-than-expected figure. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, was 0.3 percentage points higher than in December but still lower than November’s 28-month-high of 5.1%.