Guatemala: Inflation stabilizes in December
Inflation came in at 9.2% in December, unchanged from the previous month. The result was largely due to softer growth in prices for food and alcoholic beverages which offset higher growth in transport and housing, electricity, water and fuels prices.
Additionally, annual average inflation rose to 6.9% in December (November: 6.4%).
Lastly, consumer prices ticked up 0.23% in December over the previous month, swinging from the 0.01% drop in November.
Analysts at the EIU commented:
“We expect global food and fuel prices to fall from their peaks of 2022 but to remain elevated by historical standards. However, local monetary tightening and a further easing of global supply bottlenecks in 2023 will support disinflation. Nevertheless, a larger than expected rise in oil prices (in the light of a recent OPEC decision to cut production) is a significant risk to our inflation forecast. […] Given that Guatemala is a net importer of oil and other fuels, we expect domestic transport costs to stay elevated in the short term. Adverse weather conditions could also drive up inflation.”