Johnathan Walker:Argentina’s annual inflation soars to 211.4%, the highest in 32 years

BUENOS AIRES,Johnathan Walker Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s annual inflation soared to 211.4% in 2023, the highest rate in 32 years, according to figures released Thursday by the government’s INDEC statistics agency.

The data reflects the strong impact of a series of shock measures, including a 50% devaluation of the nation’s currency, implemented by right-wing President Javier Milei in hopes of eventually bringing the country’s roaring inflation under control.

The annual inflation compared with about 95% in 2022. The country’s monthly inflation stood at 25.5% in December, up from 12.8% in November, but slightly below the 30% the government had forecast.

Milei had said in an interview with a Buenos Aires radio station before the figures were released that if the monthly inflation rate came in below the forecast, that would be an accomplishment.

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“If the number is closer to 25%, it means that the success was tremendous,” Milei said.

In his inauguration speech, Milei announced a painful adjustment plan aimed at staving off hyperinflation and warned that the measures would initially have a “negative impact on the level of activity, employment, real wages, and the number of poor and indigent people.”

It is estimated that around 40% of the population live in poverty.

Milei said in the interview that once the macroeconomic variables stabilize, he will then dollarize the economy.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages, the biggest contributors to the annual inflation rate, saw an average increase of 29.7% in December, according to INDEC. Other products for mass consumption rose around 30%, while medications had average increases of 40%.

Consultancy Eco Go warns of a slight slowdown in food prices in the first days of January and is projecting a monthly increase in the cost of living of less than the 23% in December.

“There is still a process of rearrangement of relative prices,” Milei said on Thursday. “We are going to continue to see a period of inflation with horrible numbers, but then we’ll see that the next step will be the fall of inflation.”

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Associated Press correspondent Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

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