December inflation accelerated to 2.7% and the annual variation closed at 117.8%

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels It was the sector with the greatest increase in the month (+5.3%), due to increases in housing rents and services such as electricity, gas and other fuels. The division followed Communication (5.0%), due to increases in telephone and internet services.

The two divisions with the smallest variations last month were Clothing and footwear (+1.6%) and Home equipment and maintenance (+0.9%). The sector with the highest incidence at the general level was Food and drinks; while in GBA, the highest incidence was recorded in Restaurants and hotels.

What Luis Caputo said after learning the information

“This occurs in a month in which the index presents a positive seasonalitylinked to the holidays and the beginning of the summer vacation period, and in a context where both economic activity and the real income of the population show a strong recovery,” said the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputoabout the December data.

And he added: “The interannual variation of the National CPI was 117.8% yoy, being the eighth consecutive month of deceleration in comparison with the same month of the previous yearand contrasting with the 211.4% inflation recorded in 2023. It should be noted that the inflation announced today was the lowest for a month of December since 2018.”

Analysts give their opinion on December inflation

For the economist Nery Persichini The important thing to highlight is that 2024 closed with an increase in the CPI of 117.8%, very far from the 213% that was expected at the beginning of last year. “The nominal value of the first 6 months, in a framework of relative price adjustment, explained 80% of the annual dynamics. Promising: the market believes that inflation will continue to decline sharply in the coming years“, said.

For his part, for the economist Gabriel Caamaño, “+3.2% of the core and services inflation that continues to run comfortably above 4% monthly, is the worst side of the December data. The best is the general rate well below 3% and not so far from 2.5%, thanks to seasonal deflation. Food accelerated hand in hand with meat prices, cushioning the falls in the prices of tomatoes, potatoes, onions and other vegetables.”

What was the dynamics of inflation in 2024?

The data of December was the second best of the year, along with October, but below November which marked 2.4%. January (+20.6%), February (+13.2%), March (+11%) were the worst months, in which the CPI reached double digits. In April fell to 8.8% and between May and August lateralized between 4% and 4.6%, a barrier that it was only able to break in September when it was 3.5%.

image.png

As for the interannual variationbetween January and April it accelerated from 254.2% to touch the highest value in the year at 289.4%. It subsequently slowed down until reaching the minimum in 2024 this December at 117.8%, with eight consecutive months of progressive decline.