Peru: Inflation rises in February
Inflation came in at 3.3% in February, up from January’s 3.0%—which had marked the lowest inflation rate since May 2021. The result was largely driven by faster growth in prices for recreation and entertainment. In addition, prices for housing and utilities dropped at a softer pace. Moreover, prices for clothing grew at a faster pace.
Annual average inflation fell to 5.4% in February (January: 5.8%).
Lastly, consumer prices rose 0.56% over the previous month in February, above January’s 0.02% rise.
Commenting on the release, Itaú Unibanco’s Julio Ruiz stated:
“While inflation rebounded in February, most of the upside pressure came from volatile food items and core inflation stood slightly above the upper bound of the central bank’s target range. Despite the surprise, we still expect inflation to end the at 2.8%.”
Meanwhile, Creditcorp Capital’s Jose Luis Nolazco commented:
“We expect that in March annual inflation will decrease and be within the target range because inflation in March 2023 was very high.”