Argentina: Inflation picks up in February from January
Latest reading: Consumer prices increased 33.1% in annual terms in February, following a 32.4% increase in the prior month.
Relative to the previous month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for transportation (+33.1% on a year-on-year basis vs +32.8% in January), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+36.0% vs +35.9% in January), restaurants and hotels (+41.6% vs +40.6% in January) and housing and utilities (+44.3% vs +40.2% in January).
Lastly, consumer prices increased 2.90% in February on a month-on-month basis, following a 2.88% increase in the prior month.
Panelist insight: BBVA analysts said:
“In light of the higher recent inflation, which leaves greater inertia for the coming months, and the possibility of additional price increases due to the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on fuel, we have raised our forecast for 2026 from 22% to 24% annually. We continue to expect inflation to slow as long as monetary and fiscal balances are maintained, but historically disinflation processes have not been linear and there may be fluctuations in short-term monthly dynamics.”