Ecuador: Inflation ebbs in May from April
Latest reading: Consumer prices rose 0.9% on a year-on-year basis in May, following a 2.6% rise in the prior month. May’s reading was the weakest since September 2025.
Relative to the prior month’s data, there were reduced price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (-0.1% on a year-on-year basis vs +0.3% in April), housing and utilities (-7.2% vs +17.3% in April), restaurants and hotels (+1.2% vs +1.4% in April) and communication (+0.6% vs +0.7% in April). In contrast, price pressures were higher for transportation in May (+5.9% vs +3.2% in April).
Lastly, consumer prices declined 0.62% in May in month-on-month terms, following a 0.53% increase in the previous month.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, Sergio Armella, analyst at Goldman Sachs stated:
“Overall, inflation remains low, with contained core inflation pressures excluding food and energy, but we expect higher headline readings in the coming months as temporary electricity subsidies reverse. The measured tariff decline in the May CPI was associated with the extraordinary contribution received during the month by households affected by power outages in April, and should therefore reverse to a significant extent in the June reading.”