Argentina’s inflation tops 100% for the first time since 1991
By Stefano Pozzebon, CNN
Argentina’s yearly inflation rate rose past 100% for the first time in three decades, according to new figures released by the country’s statistical body INDEC, as the government struggles to control rising prices.
Prices rose 102.5% in February compared to a year before, INDEC said, placing its inflation rate amongst the highest in world.
Prices rose 6.6% between January and February and 13.1% in the first two months of the year combined, according to the figures.
Food and drink are among the items that appreciated the most, with a 9.,8% increase in February compared to the previous month, followed by IT and communications (7.8%) and hospitality (7.5%).
Argentina has been battered by crippling inflation and February is the 13th straight month that the South American country reported a monthly inflation rate above 4% — generally considered a threshold for healthy economies.
To combat the rising prices and the depreciation of the Argentinian peso, the government of President Alberto Fernandez has subsidized a series of protected foreign exchange rates dedicated to specific sectors of the economy, effectively making it cheaper for certain businesses to purchase dollars on the exchange market.
Among them are the ‘Dollar Malbec,’ for wine producers, ‘Dollar Qatar’ for agencies selling travel packages to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the ‘Dollar Coldplay’ for concert organizers.
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