Inflation in Argentina accelerates for second straight month

Argentina’s inflation accelerated for the second consecutive month in January as the Central Bank sped up the pace of its controlled currency devaluations.

Consumer prices rose 3.9 percent from December, below economists’ expectations for a four-percent increase. Annual inflation reached 50.7 percent, according to government data published Tuesday. Prices on communication, hotels, restaurants and food led all categories on increases.

The pace of consumer prices sped up as Argentina’s Central Bank depreciated the peso by 2.2 percent in January, the quickest pace in nearly a year. With foreign reserves running low, policy makers are letting the peso lose value faster with the goal of having its move be more in tandem with the monthly inflation rate. 

Economists surveyed by the Central Bank see annual inflation ending this year at 55 percent.