Panama: Inflation inches down in January
Consumer prices rose 0.20% month-on-month in December, coming in slightly above the 0.19% increase observed in December. According to the National Comptroller’s Office (Contraloría General de la República), January’s print reflected higher prices in 7 of the 12 components of the index. Higher prices for hotels and restaurants, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco were largely behind the monthly increase.
Inflation inched down from 0.5% in December to 0.4% in January. Given Panama’s dollarized economy, authorities lack the freedom to use monetary policy or exchange rate adjustments to influence inflation. Meanwhile, annual average inflation edged down from 0.9% in December to 0.8% in January.