Not surprisingly, the news of the increase in the consumer price index (CPI) for April, which was released by INDEC this afternoon, ceases to have an impact. It showed an increase of 6%, which brings the accumulated figure for the year to 23.1% and 58% year-on-year (April 2022 vs April 2021). However, what is most worrying is not so much this figure, much higher than what the Government forecast at the end of the year for this time and on which its strategy of establishing salary increases and updating public service rates was based, but its acceleration.
If the figure for April were repeated, we would already be at an annualized inflation of 101%, but if we went to the monthly average for the first four months of the year (5.3%) we would still be at 86% per year. Almost double what these figures showed last year, before the elections loosened fiscal and monetary policy.
Also another surprise from what was recorded in April was the result in the food and beverage category: 5.9%, one tenth less than the average, which banishes the theories that “the war” raised the price of exportables and it was noted in the gondolas. In any case, on the podium of those that rose the most were Clothing and footwear (9.9%), Restaurants and hotels (7.3%) and Health (6.4%). What do they have in common? That the three items were affected in one way or another by inactivity or intensity of use during the pandemic, through price controls (Health) or directly by restrictions (Clothes and Restaurants).
The challenge then comes from those sectors that were repressed for many months and are now finding escape routes to find new balances in rebuilding their profitability levels. In fact, the first two (Clothing and Restaurants) have already accumulated a 73% increase in the last year, leading the inflationary ranking by far.
It remains as a suspense note for this month of May how the update of rates that is currently going through a process of non-binding hearings will impact the announced and controversial price segmentation that in one way or another will affect the index for the coming months. . Just in case, oil companies already rose 10% earlier this week hoping not to be left behind in the inflation race. Because whoever lags behind loses and it is difficult for them to recover positions in the short term..
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