Ecuador: Inflation picks up in February from January
Latest reading: Consumer prices were up 2.6% in annual terms in February, following a 2.4% rise in the previous month. February’s reading was the strongest since April 2024, and was driven by unfavorable base effects related to electricity subsidies in the prior year.
Relative to the previous month’s data, there were higher price pressures for housing and utilities (24.5% vs +20.8% in January). In contrast, there were reduced price pressures for transportation (-0.5% vs +0.1% in January), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+1.8% vs +2.1% in January), clothing and footwear (-5.0% vs -4.9% in January), restaurants and hotels (+1.2% vs +1.5% in January) and communication (-0.4% vs -0.3% in January).
Finally, consumer prices rose 0.21% in February in month-on-month terms, following a 0.37% rise in the prior month.