Argentina’s inflation tops 100% for the first time since 1991

Argentina’s yearly inflation rate rose past 100% for the first time in three decades, according to new figures released by the country’s statistical body INDEC, as the government struggles to control rising prices.

Prices rose 102.5% in February compared to a year before, INDEC said, placing its inflation rate amongst the highest in world.

Prices rose 6.6% between January and February and 13.1% in the first two months of the year combined, according to the figures.

Food and drink are among the items that appreciated the most, with a 9.,8% increase in February compared to the previous month, followed by IT and communications (7.8%) and hospitality (7.5%).

Argentina has been battered by crippling inflation and February is the 13th straight month that the South American country reported a monthly inflation rate above 4% – generally considered a threshold for healthy economies.

To combat the rising prices and the depreciation of the Argentinian peso, the government of President Alberto Fernandez has subsidized a series of protected foreign exchange rates dedicated to specific sectors of the economy, effectively making it cheaper for certain businesses to purchase dollars on the exchange market.

Tags: Argentina