Colombia: Inflation increases in August
Latest reading: Inflation rose to 5.1% in August from July’s 4.9%, matching market expectations and remaining above the Central Bank’s 2.0–4.0% inflation target. The increase was driven by a stronger increase in prices for food. In contrast, housing and utilities plus transportation price pressures eased.
Annual average inflation fell to 5.2% in August (July: 5.3%). Meanwhile, core inflation ticked up to 5.4% in August from the previous month’s 5.3%.
Finally, consumer prices rose 0.19% in August over the previous month, below the 0.27% rise recorded in July.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, Santiago Tellez, analyst at Goldman Sachs, stated:
“We still see encouraging disinflationary signals in the gradually slowing momentum of core services and moderating rent inflation […]. We expect further core services disinflation for the remainder of the year. On the flip side, adverse base effects suggest inflation progress has hit a temporary speed bump, and we see some upside risks to short-term inflation from noncore pressures. We maintain our year-end 2025 inflation forecast.”