Inflation picks up in March from the prior month

Latest reading: Harmonized consumer prices increased 2.2% on a year-on-year basis in March, following a 1.4% increase in the previous month. Relative to the previous month's figures, there were higher price pressures for transportation (+6.7% in annual terms vs +1.5% in February), housing and utilities (+0.6% vs -1.0% in February) and recreation (+3.2% vs +2.1% in February). In contrast, there were reduced price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (-0.8% vs +0.6% in February) and restaurants and hotels (+3.7% vs +4.1% in February). Meanwhile, consumer prices rose 1.6% on a year-on-year basis in March, following a 1.4% rise in the prior month. Lastly, harmonized consumer prices increased 0.31% in March on a month-on-month basis, following a 2.47% rise in the previous month.

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