In Panama, inflation varied year-on-year by 1.5% in February 2024, compared to the same month as 2023, according to the Consumer Price Index (IPC) of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Inec) published by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
The groups that showed increases were: miscellaneous goods and services by 4.2 per cent; transportation 3.7 per cent; restaurants and hotels 2.7 per cent; housing, water, electricity and gas 2.4 per cent; health 1.3 per cent; food and non-alcoholic drinks 1.2 per cent; education 0.7 per cent.
For their part, the groups that recorded decreases were: clothing and footwear by 2.1 per cent; recreation and culture 0.7 per cent; furniture, household items and ordinary maintenance of the home 0.6 per cent; and communications 0.4 per cent. While the group alcohol and tobacco reflected a slight decrease, Inec statistics show.
The February CPI versus January varied by 0.3%. The groups that showed increases were: transport by 1.6 per cent; education 1.3 per cent; housing, water, electricity and gas; and restaurants and hotels; both 0.6 per cent; furniture, household items and for regular maintenance of the home both 0.5 per cent; miscellaneous goods and services 0.2 per cent and communications 0.1 per cent.
In 2023 the variation in the level of urban national prices was 1.5%1, lower than that recorded in 2022 (2.9%) and 2021 (1.6%), according to data from the Inec, cites the preliminary fiscal balance sheet of December 2023, of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
The price level fell especially in transport, health, clothing and footwear, communications, furniture, household items and for the ordinary maintenance of the home and recreation and culture. On the contrary, they showed increases: housing, water, electricity and gas, education, various goods and services, non-alcoholic food and drinks, alcoholic beverages and tobacco and restaurants and hotels.
The year-on-year inflation variation of December 2023 was 1.9 per cent, one of the lowest rates in the region’s economies. For example, it was higher in: Argentina (211.4%), Colombia (9.3%), Nicaragua (5.6%), Uruguay (5.1%), Mexico (4.7%), Sweden (4.4%), Guatemala (4.2%), the United Kingdom (4.0%), Chile (3.9%), Germany (3.7%), France (3.7%), Brazil (3.7%), Rep. Dominican (1.6 per cent), the United States (3.4 per cent), the European Union (3.4 per cent), Canada (3.4 per cent), Spain (3.1 per cent) and Japan (2.6 per cent).
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in La Estrella