Despite highly subsidized public rates, a long list of coerced consumer prices, relatively cheap fuel in the current global energy-short environment, the Consumer Price Index in Argentine Patagonia, mainly Tierra del Fuego, reached 3,6% in January, according to the latest report from the official stats office, Indec.
Despite requirements from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that inflation needs to be under control, Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec) Tuesday reported January's figures had reached 3.9% for a 50.7% YoY.
A survey of financial operators in Chile anticipates that the aggressive policy of the country's central bank to combat rising prices will continue to hike interest rates, anticipating the basic rate from the bank's Monetary Policy office will be reaching 8% by next May.
Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) Wednesday increased its benchmark interest rate (Selic) by 1.5 percentage points, reaching 10.75%, the first time in five years it hit double digits, amid a growing inflation and despite the consequences, this measure may have on economic growth.
The Chilean central bank hiked its reference rate from 4% to 5,5% to contain inflation which last year reached 7,2%, the highest in fourteen years. The Monetary Policy council of the bank on Wednesday agreed unanimously to increase the reference rate by 150 base points, according to the official release.
An article published by The Washington Post highlights Argentina's inflationary tradition and suggests US citizens should take a look at the South American country's way of economic life after prices locally rose around 7% in one year.
Inflation in Latin America for the year 2021 was way above projections, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has said in a report issued from its Santiago headquarters.
Brazilian economy minister Paulo Guedes said that inflation will become a long-term challenge for Western countries, since the beast is already out of the bottle, and central bankers have been caught sleeping at the driving wheel.
The Consumers Price Index in Argentine Patagonia, mainly Tierra del Fuego, was 3,1% in December accumulating 51,6% in the twelve months of 2021, in the range of the overall Argentine inflation last year, 50,9%.
Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) rebounded to an estimated 6.7% in 2021, driven by favorable external conditions and pandemic-related developments, according to the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects. Region-wide new COVID-19 cases dropped sharply in the second half of the year, before surging in late December, even as the vaccination rollout progressed. Strong demand in key export destinations (the United States and China), high commodity prices, and continued high remittances to Central American and Caribbean countries were also supportive of growth in 2021.