Inflation rises in March

Latest reading: Harmonized consumer prices rose 2.5% on a year-on-year basis in March, following a 1.8% increase in the previous month. March's reading was the strongest since September 2023. Relative to the previous month's data, there were higher price pressures for transportation (+3.2% in annual terms vs 0.0% in February), housing and utilities (+5.5% vs +3.7% in February) and recreation (+2.1% vs +2.0% in February). In contrast, there were milder price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.5% vs +1.4% in February) and restaurants and hotels (+2.5% vs +2.6% in February). Meanwhile, consumer prices were up 1.3% in annual terms in March, following a 0.6% rise in the previous month. Finally, harmonized consumer prices increased 0.84% in March in month-on-month terms, following a 1.21% rise in the previous month. Faster growth in consumer prices in both annual and monthly terms was largely due to the outbreak of the war in the Middle East in late February, which pushed up energy prices.

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