The drop in the fuel prices in December caused the figure to be below the 14.2% forecasted by the government for the year.
An analysis by the elfinancierocr.com explained that "just in December alone, the CPI had a negative variation of 0.42%, that is, on average prices dropped. This is the first time in several years that there was a drop in prices in the month of December and the first time during the year that the phenomenon occurred."
Outlook Report December 2008 from the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Monetary Policy.
The disruption of prices in the international market for commodities: petroleum, steel, copper, and basic food, and especially, the recent problems with the US financial system and other countries and regions in the world that are affecting employment and other economic variables, are two of the situations that have significant implications for the region.
There was a 0.95% increase recorded in the price of good in the basic food basket, or an accumulated inter-annual index of 15.77%, the highest it has been in 10 years.
"The inter-annual variation up to the end of September 2008 is the highest recorded in the last 10 years," INEC declared in a press release comparing the figure for the period from October 2007 to September 2008; it was at 9.43% in the previous period.