Costa Rica : Economic Indicators : 2012
Inflation eases in January
In January, consumer prices rose 0.17% over the previous month, which was well below the 0.92% price increase registered in December. As a result, annual inflation fell from 4.7% in December to 4.2%, which marks the lowest level since December 2009.
Meanwhile, the core inflation index, which smoothes short-term fluctuations in the consumer price index, added 0.68% in January, above the 0.35% increase seen in December. In spite of the monthly increase, annual core inflation remained unchanged at December’s 4.5%.
According to its Macroeconomic Programme 2012-2013, in the absence of fiscal reform the Central Bank intends to maintain an inflation target of 5.0% for both 2012 and 2013 (with a tolerance margin of ±1.0 percentage points). The Bank also presented an alternative scenario, which takes into account the approval of the fiscal reform, in which monetary authorities lowered their inflation target to 4.0% for both 2012 and 2013.
Forecasts: This indicator is covered in the FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast. For 5-year projections, including quarterly forecasts for the next two years, please visit our Online Store.
