Argentina closes 2022 with its highest inflation in 32 years

Inflation in 2022 in Argentina was 94.8%, as reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) when publishing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December, which showed a variation of 5.1 percent.

In this way, the accumulated figure for last year was the highest since 1990, when it stood at 1,343.9%, and substantially above the 57.7% that the previous economic management, led by Martín Guzmán, had calculated for the 2022 Budget.

The monthly variation was located just above the number that the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, had advanced days ago, who alluded that the CPI for the twelfth month of 2022 would have “a four ahead.” However, it is at a level expected by private consultants.

This is the fourth lowest record of the year together with May (5.1 percent). The podium is made up of the months of January (3.9%), February (4.7%) and November (4.9%). Meanwhile, July (7.4%) was the period with the most pronounced increases, marked mainly by the crisis that began at the beginning of that month after Guzmán’s departure from the Palacio de Hacienda.

According to INDEC, the rise in the Food and non-alcoholic beverages segment (4.7%) was the one that had the greatest impact in most regions and in the general index. In the disaggregated, the increase of Fruits (10%), Mineral waters and other beverages (9.3%); Bread and cereals (6.7%); and in some regions, Vegetables, tubers and legumes (8.9%).

The pricing of 1,900 products and the pattern of 4% increases for thousands more consigned in the Fair Prices program had been one of the factors that diminished the dynamics of November. This trend was replicated during this month, although to a lesser extent, given the seasonality of that period.

Meanwhile, the division with the highest increase in the month was Restaurants and hotels (7.2%), followed by Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.1%). “In turn, in December the increase in domestic service stood out, which had an impact on Equipment and home maintenance (5.9%); fuels, with an incidence in Transportation (5.8%); and the prepaid medicine fee , within the Health division (5.7%)”, they reported.

inflation ranking

In 2022, more than 40% of the world reached inflation greater than double digits, while Argentina avoided joining the club of more than 100%, while encouraging signs for the global economy came from the United States and Europe in recent days.

With the December result, Argentina’s CPI is around 95%, the highest data since 1991, and managed to stay out of the top 5 that make up Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Venezuela, Syria and Sudan, countries with triple-digit inflation. Zimbabwe’s price index, the highest in the world, exceeds 260% according to the comparison of global data -with measurements to October- of Trading Economics that Visual Capitalist graphs.

Amid warnings from global organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF and the Davos Economic Forum about “persistent inflation”, the latest data from the OECD and the United States gave a sign of hope. US inflation marked 6.5% and improved analysts’ perspectives on the path of rate policy.