Colombia: Inflation edges down in March
Consumer prices rose 0.51% on a monthly basis in March, down from February’s 0.64% increase. March’s downturn was largely driven by a softer growth in prices for clothing and footwear, as well as for transportation.
Inflation inched down to 1.5% in March, (February: 1.6%) moving further below the lower bound of the Central Bank’s target range of 2.0%–4.0%. Accordingly, annual average inflation came in at 2.0%, softening from February’s 2.2%. Lastly, core inflation remained stable at February’s 1.7% in March.
Felipe Camargo, senior economist at Oxford Economics said:
“Low inflation is lingering despite rising oil prices and a weakening peso. We expect reflation to return in the upcoming months due to a strong pick up in the price of energy goods. Core inflation will likely remain flat until growth in services output gains momentum.”