Fifteen months after the beginning of the health and economic crisis, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are the economies in the region with the highest inflation rates, a behavior that was influenced by increases in fuel and transportation costs.
In the second quarter of 2020, a period in which the countries of the region were going through a severe economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, inflation levels were low and in some economies negative variations were reported.
Between December 2020 and May 2021, the average cost of airline tickets in Costa Rica increased 18%, a variation that is explained by the increase in fuel prices and the depreciation of the local currency.
One of the sectors with the highest contribution to the variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in May was Transportation. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), gasoline, airline tickets and tourist packages abroad were among the main items with the greatest positive effect on the price level.
In September, price increases were more pronounced for vegetable oils and cereals, and for dairy products prices remained stable, while sugar and meat prices fell from their August levels.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that in September 2020 the food price index averaged 97.9 points, i.e., 2% more than in August and already 4.6% above its value a year ago.
During February in the country the CPI reported -0.3% year-on-year variation, which is partly explained by the behavior of the prices of the transport category.
The groups that showed decreases in the National Urban CPI for February compared to January 2020 were: Transportation with 1.3%, Food and non-alcoholic beverages with 0.8%, Recreation and culture with 0.4%, Communications with 0.3%, Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, and Health all with 0.1%, reported the General Comptroller of the Republic.
During the second month of the year, the CPI registered a 3.7% year-on-year variation, which is less than the 4.1% reported in January 2020.
The variation in the Consumer Price Index was -0.13% in February compared to January 2020, placing accumulated inflation in the January-February period at 0.20%. With this result, year-on-year inflation measured from February 2019 to February 2020, reached 3.66%, below the center of the target range of 4%±1% established in the Monetary Program.
In the second month of the year the CPI registered a 1.79% year-on-year variation, an inflationary rhythm that exceeds the 1.58% reported in January.
Of the 315 goods and services that make up the consumption basket, 50% increased in price, 41% decreased in price and 9% presented no variation, informed the National Institute of Statistics and Census.
During the second month of the year, the Consumer Price Index registered a 3.99% year-on-year variation, a rise that was determined in part by the behavior of the prices of education services, hotels and restaurants.
From the Central Bank of Honduras report:
The monthly behavior of the CPI was determined by the contribution of the item "Education" with 0.51 percentage points (pp), together with the items "Recreation and Culture" and "Hotels, Cafes and Restaurants" with 0.04 pp, each. On the contrary, "Transportation" contributed -0.18 pp to the monthly inflation.
In Costa Rica, the building and social housing price indexes recorded year-on-year changes of -0.87% and -0.48%, respectively, in January of this year.
From the report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census:
The construction price indexes based on February 2012 are a set of twenty statistical indicators, which measure the variation in the prices of materials used in the construction of different types of works.
At the beginning of 2020 in Panama, a positive variation in the Consumer Price Index was reported, a behavior that was determined partly by the prices of Transportation and Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.
From the report of the General Comptroller of the Republic:
The groups showing an increase in the National Urban CPI of January 2020, as compared to December 2019 were: Housing, water, electricity and gas with 0.6%; Transportation with 0.5%; Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, Education and Diverse goods and services all with 0.3%; Health and Restaurants and hotels both with 0.1%.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, Transport, and Recreation and culture, were the sectors that had the greatest incidence in January for the CPI to report a 4.1% year-on-year variation.
The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that the overall consumer price index (CPI) experienced a 0.33% change in January 2020 compared to December 2019, while the underlying price index or monetary conditions index experienced a 0.38% change in the first month of the year.
After the inflationary rhythm went from 3.8% to 4.1% between November and December 2019, during January 2020 the year-on-year CPI was 4.3%.
In the first month of 2020, the monthly variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 0.24% (0.03% in January 2019), an increase driven by the rise in the price of services related to housing, some food and recreational and cultural items and services.
During January, the Consumer Price Index registered a 1.58% year-on-year variation, a rise that was influenced by the increase in the prices of Rent and housing services, and Education.
Out of the 315 goods and services that make up the consumer basket, 48% increased in price, 44% decreased in price and 8% showed no variation, reported the National Institute of Statistics and Census.
At the end of 2019, Panama reported a negative variation in the Consumer Price Index, a behavior that was determined partly by the prices of air passenger transport.
From the report of the General Comptroller of the Republic:
The groups that presented decreases in the National Urban CPI of December, with respect to November 2019 were: Transportation with 0.5%; Furniture, home articles and ordinary home maintenance, and Recreation and culture both with 0.4%; Alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 0.2%; Food and non-alcoholic beverages, and diverse goods and services both with 0.1%.
In Guatemala, between January and December of last year the price of 16 gauge steel wire rose 16%, and that of structural galvanized steel sheet, die-cut, 26 gauge, was reduced by 5%.
The Price Index of Construction Materials -IPMC-, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), measures the variations of the prices of the eighty-nine (89) materials and services that integrate the representative basket of inputs used in the construction activity, using as base month December 2018=100.
In November 2019, the Consumer Price Index in El Salvador reported a 0.12% monthly variation, explained in part by price increases in the alcoholic beverages and electricity, gas and other fuels divisions.
From the report of the General Directorate of Statistics and Census:
The behavior of the CPI with respect to October 2019, is mainly due to the increases of 0.33% in Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages and 0.39% in Transportation, with which the accumulated inflation for November 2019 is -0.11%, lower variation than the one registered in the same period of the previous year (0.91%).