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.
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.
At the end of last year, the Consumer Price Index in the country reported a 6.1% year-on-year variation, an inflationary rhythm that is higher than the 3.9% registered in December 2018.
After not publishing for several months the information on the behavior of prices in the country, the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) decided to report that in December 2019 the annual inflation was 6.1%.
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.
In Costa Rica, the price indexes for buildings and social housing registered year-on-year variations of -0.5% and -0.05%, respectively, in the fifth month of the year.
From the National Institute of Statistics and Census statement:
The price indexes for February 2012 construction base 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.
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.
Increases in the electricity, fuel and some food prices caused a 0.92% monthly variation to be reported during the fourth month of the year.
The categories with the highest contribution to monthly inflation were "Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels" with 0.37%, "Transportation" with 0.21% and "Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages" with 0.16% -concentrating 80.4% of the total-, likewise, the groups "Personal Care", "Furniture and Articles for Home Maintenance" and "Clothing and Footwear" contributed in less proportion, informed the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH).
During the third month of the year, the CPI registered a 1.82% monthly variation, mainly because of the prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
In cumulative terms, domestic inflation was 1.84%, year-on-year inflation was 5.09%, 0.25% higher than in March 2018, while base year-on-year inflation was 5.25% (4.20% in March 2018), reported the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN).
In Costa Rica, the price indexes for buildings and social housing registered 2.8% and 1.9% year-on-year variations in the first month of the year, respectively.
From the statement of the National Institute of Statistics and Census:
The price indexes for construction 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.
After reporting in December 2018 a 2.1% inflation, it is foreseen that this year the inflationary rhythm of the country could range between 2% and 2.6%.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) presented its inflation projections for the current year, in which is contemplated the expected effect of the international price of hydrocarbons as well as the impact of the entry into force of the value added tax.