Dominican Republic: Inflation comes in at highest level since October 2008 in May
Consumer prices rose 0.65% in May over the previous month, accelerating from the 0.41% increase logged in April amid faster price pressures for food, beverages and tobacco.
Inflation increased to 10.5% in May from April’s 9.6%. May’s figure represented the highest inflation rate since October 2008. Inflation has now been above the Central Bank’s target range of 3.0%–5.0% for seven straight months. Meanwhile, the trend pointed up, with annual average inflation coming in at 6.2% in May (April: 5.4%). Core inflation ticked up to 5.8% in May, from the previous month’s 5.7%.
To combat high inflation, the government has in recent weeks announced a series of measures, including a fuel price freeze, a cut in prices for certain industrial components, DOP 2 billion in credit for importers of staple food goods and the rollout of government-run markets to provide food at a lower price. These measures, combined with a more favorable base effect, should see inflation dip in the second half of the year.