Inflation slowed to 0.8% in February and accumulated 17 consecutive months of reductions.
Inflation measures the prices of the economy, which in the last two years mainly affected food. /DEM
El Salvador’s inflation moderated to 0.8% in the 12-month measurement in February 2024, its lowest rate in three years, the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reported.
The figure compares to 0.31 per cent in January 2021 and adds 17 consecutive months in its streak of deceleration since December 2022.
In February, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a reduction of 0.40 % compared to January 2024, and is 8.5 times lower compared to the rate of 6.8 % reported in the same month of 2023.
According to the BCR, in four of the 12 activities measured by the CPI there was deflation (price drop), while inflation in the category of alcoholic beverages increased from 2.62 per cent to 2.66 per cent, as well as clothing and footwear from 0.48 per cent to 1.08 per cent.
Inflation in the field of education remains at zero, a dynamic that has been recorded since April 2023.
There was deflation in -1.41 % in furniture and household items; -3.08 % in transport; -0.89 % in communications; and -2.98 % in recreation and culture.
Inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages stood at 2.15 per cent, the lowest since May 2021 when it remained at 1.15 per cent.
At that time, food prices began to increase rapidly due to the international logistical crisis, which affected both delays and rises. In 2022, there was a new push that brought inflation to its highest of 14.5 percent in August of that year, amid a cocktail of crises due to the increase in oil and agricultural inputs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in Diario El Mundo