According to INDEC data, Argentine inflation rose to 8.6% in the first quarter of the year, reaching 55.9% year-on-year.
Argentina's Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to 3.7% in March for the third consecutive month, the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) said Friday.
The figure was well above analysts surveyed by Reuters , who expected a 2.6% increase and is the highest since September 2024.
In the first quarter of the year, Argentine inflation rose to 8.6%, climbing to 55.9% year-on-year.
The category with the largest monthly increase in March was "Education," with 21.6%, followed by "Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages," with 5.9%, according to INDEC.
Local political and economic issues, amid negotiations for a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and a complicated global economic context were the drivers of the latest price increases, analysts agree.
A recent survey by the central bank (BCRA) estimated that the CPI would rise to 27.5% in 2025, up from 23.4% forecast a month earlier.
Despite the current situation, the monetary policy imposed by libertarian President Javier Milei since the end of 2023 shows a notable slowdown in retail prices compared to previous years.
"March's 3.7% inflation rate is a sort of death certificate for phase II of the stabilization process that began last July," said economist Luis Secco on the social network X.
"With the final approval of the new agreement with the IMF, we are on the verge of defining the long-promised new exchange rate regime that (as announced by Economy Minister Luis Caputo) will usher in the so-called third (and final) stage of stabilization," he noted.
The government expects the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to formally announce a $20 billion loan to the country this Friday, which would serve to bolster the Central Bank's (BCRA) meager reserves.
"The agreement with the IMF will allow the Central Bank to receive reserves so it can be 100% healthy. That's very good, and it will allow inflation to continue to fall to much lower levels than it is now in the medium term," said Agustín Echebarne of the Fundación Libertad y Progreso.
