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.
In September, the Consumer Price Index increased 2% year-on-year, up from 1.7% in August 2019.
The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that the consumer price index (CPI) registered a 0.38 % variation in September 2019 with respect to August, so that accumulated inflation in the January-September period stood at 2.38%.
During August, the inflationary rhythm was reduced for the third consecutive month, falling to 4.29%, which is explained by the behavior of the prices of Food and non-alcoholic beverages.
The monthly variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 0.06% in August 2019, lower than that observed in the same month of the previous year (0.44%), a result mainly because of the reduction in the prices of some foodstuffs, which was compensated by increases in the rent of housing, some medicines and health services, informed the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH).
After the year-on-year variation of the CPI in May of this year was only 1.3%, in June the inflationary rhythm in the country became low again, in this case it was 0.9%.
The variation of the Consumer Price Index in June was -0.18% with respect to May, placing the accumulated inflation in the semester from January to June at 1.17%, informed the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.
During June, the Consumer Price Index reported a 5.6% year-on-year variation, an inflationary rhythm that is lower than the 6% registered in May.
From the Central Bank of Nicaragua report:
The June Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a 0.09 percent monthly increase (0.44% in June 2018), mainly explained by the behavior of prices in some goods and services of the Food and non-alcoholic beverages divisions (0.63%); Restaurants and hotels (0.60%); and Diverse goods and services (0.74%); which together contributed 0.333 percentage points to the observed variation. On the other hand, the division of Recreation and culture showed a 4.37 percent decrease, for a negative contribution of 0.167 percentage points.
After registering a 4.5% year-on-year variation in the Consumer Price Index in May, in June the inflationary rhythm rose to 4.8%.
The most important inflation levels in June 2019 are as follows: 0.83% monthly inflation, 4.80% inflationary rhythm and 3.17% accumulated inflation, reported the National Statistics Institute.
Between April and May of this year, the inflationary rhythm grew from 4.9% to 5.1%, mainly because of variations in the prices of fuels, some services and certain foods.
From the Central Bank of Honduras report:
The items with the highest contribution to monthly inflation were: "Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels" with 0.09 percentage points (pp); followed by "Transport" and "Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages" with 0.08 pp, each and "Clothing and Footwear" with 0.04 pp (together contributing 80.6% to monthly inflation). Likewise, the groups "Personal Care" and "Furniture and Household Maintenance Items" each contributed less, with 0.02 pp, and "Health", "Recreation and Culture" and "Hotels, Cafeterias and Restaurants" with 0.01 pp, each.
In May, the CPI rose 6%, reinforcing the upward trend that has been reported since February.
In February, the indicator stood at 3.3%, in March it was 5.1% and in April, 5.8%. The May figure reinforces the upward trend that is likely to continue for the rest of the year.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May showed a 0.77% monthly increase (0.55% in May 2018), mainly because of the behavior of prices in some goods and services of the Food and non-alcoholic beverages divisions (1.12%), informed the Central Bank of Nicaragua.
During the fourth month of the year, the CPI recorded a monthly variation of 0.24%, mainly explained by prices in the sectors of Transport and Recreation and culture.
From a report by the Central Bank of Nicaragua:
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed an increase of 0.24 percent (0.32% in April 2017), explained mainly by the behavior of prices in some goods and services in divisions of Transportation (1.86%); Recreation and culture (1.75%); and Restaurants and hotels (0.23%), which together contributed 0.231 percentage points to the variation observed. In contrast, the Food and non-alcoholic beverages division showed a decrease of -0.17 percent (-0.059pp). [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graphs"]
The consumer price index recorded a monthly variation of 0.22%, due to an increase in the prices of transport and furniture and household items.
From a report by the Central Bank of Honduras:
In April 2018, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered a monthly variation of 0.22%, the lowest of the last seven months. This behavior was influenced by the rise in the price of fuel in the domestic market, as well as some household goods, furniture and appliances. [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
In March, the consumer price index recorded a monthly variation of 0.35%, due to an increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transportation.
From a report by the Central Bank of Honduras:
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed a monthly increase of 0.35% in March of this year, explained largely by a price increase in some products, such as the Kwh rate for residential electric power, housing rental and certain foods.[GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
In January the consumer price index rose by 0.04%, an increase which was mainly due to the categories Food and Spirits and Food and Beverages Consumed Outside of the Home.
From a statement issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica:
Consumer Price Index, based in July 2006 January 2015
The National Institute of Statistics and Census reports on the main results of the Consumer Price Index for the month of January 2015.
In November, the consumer price index recorded a rise of 0.19%, explained by an increase in the divisions of food, recreation and health.
From a report by the National Statistical Institute of Guatemala (INE):
The Consumer Price Index for November 2014 stood at 118.19, registering a monthly variation of 0.19% and compared to November last year the variation was 3.38%.
In October, the consumer price index recorded a rise of 0.15%, putting the cumulative inflation from January to October at 2.86%.
From report by the National Statistical Institute of Guatemala:
The Consumer Price Index for October 2014 stood at 117.96, posting a monthly change of 0.15%, and compared with October last year the variation was 3.64%.
In September the consumer price index recorded a rise of 0.3%, with the categories of Health and Food and Beverages increasing the most.
From a statement issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Panama:
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September compared to August 2014, showed an increase of 0.3% for both the National Urban Area and for the districts of Panama and San Miguelito and Other Urban Areas.