News of inflation

EXTENDED INTERVIEW

Martín Guzmán: ‘The reality facing Argentina was not understood by creditors’

13-06-2020 09:06 Economy Minister Martín Guzmán on debt talks, sustainability, the IMF, the coronavirus pandemic, printing money and inflation.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Coronavirus pandemic

Virus deepens economic crisis as poverty soars

13-06-2020 08:58 Number of Argentines receiving food aid since crisis began has gone from 8 million to 11 million, according to officials.

THE LAST SEVEN DAYS

June 6 to 13: What we learned this week

13-06-2020 08:38 Key stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation reached 1.5% in May, second straight month under 2%

12-06-2020 01:20 Inflation rate for the last 12 months now totals 43.4%, with a rise of 11.1 percent recorded in the first five months of the year so far.

Bloomberg

Inflation in full retreat means Latin America can boost stimulus

10-06-2020 16:32 Consumer prices fell last month in several major economies in Latin America due to the decrease in demand resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN INTERVIEW

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: ‘Argentina has the cards to renegotiate its debt’

23-05-2020 09:45 French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, gives his view on Argentina’s debt restructuring talks, the Fund’s leadership and wealth taxes.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

ECONOMY AND CULTURE

Choice of Ramón Carrillo for 5,000-peso bill sparks controversy

23-05-2020 08:04 Health secretary under Perón set to be featured on new banknote, but local Jewish community leaders express anger given his historic links to Nazi Danish doctor Carl Peter Vaernet.

BLOOMBERG

Inflation expectations soar amid Central Bank stimulus

21-05-2020 01:41 Plans to greatly expand the amount of money in circulation, while the demand for pesos is low and inflation is already at 45%, have increased concerns about rising prices.

ARGENTINA

State to pay half of private-sector wages in June

16-05-2020 09:43 Government to pay half the wages of almost two million private-sector workers, as it did in April.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation slowed to 1.5% in April amid nationwide lockdown

15-05-2020 02:18 Consumer prices rose 1.5% in April compared to March, a significant decrease from the previous monthly figure of 3.3%, the INDEC national statistics agency reported.

Coronavirus pandemic

Costlier food hits Latin America’s poor and adds to unrest risk

11-05-2020 13:03 A jump in food prices across Latin America is bringing added misery to the poorest families hit by the coronavirus pandemic and increasing the chance of social unrest.

WORLD

Martin Wolf: ‘This is potentially a hinge moment in history’

02-05-2020 08:25 Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, discusses the economic fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, in an exclusive interview with Perfil’s Jorge Fontevecchia.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Bloomberg

Without access to credit, Argentina turns to its Central Bank

21-04-2020 14:27 Money supply is increasing as Argentina grapples with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, stoking inflation fears and increasing the likelihood of a default next month.

TWO HOURS WITH THE PRESIDENT

Alberto Fernández: ‘Every time I speak, I’m saying the truth – I don’t lie’

18-04-2020 08:14 In a feature-length interview, Argentina's president addresses the coronavirus pandemic and opens up about his private life and relationship with both Peronism and Radicalism, explaining why he is more a child of hippie culture than Peronist doctrine.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation in March hit 3.3% amid lockdown, rise in food prices

15-04-2020 18:42 Consumer prices rose faster than expected in March as the country went into a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

MIGUEL ÁNGEL PESCE INTERVIEW

Miguel Pesce: ‘In this emergency, the mechanism is printing money’

11-04-2020 10:07 Central Bank chief Miguel Ángel Pesce on the economy, printing money, the coronavirus pandemic and the problems that lie ahead.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Argentina & the IMF

IMF to hold remote consultations with Argentina amid coronavirus pandemic

03-04-2020 11:21 The government announced this week that it intends to seek a new IMF programme that will allow the existing one to be refinanced until the country can tap debt markets again. The IMF’s normal yearly check-up, an Article IV review, will now likely take place remotely.

Coronavirus pandemic

President Fernández extends mandatory quarantine period until April 12

29-03-2020 22:55 Alberto Fernández praises citizens for complying with shutdown, announces "preventative and obligatory" quarantine period for all citizens will be extended until midnight on Sunday, April 12.

Coronavirus pandemic

Governors to meet President Fernández for talks on 'total quarantine'

19-03-2020 12:32 Reports suggest "total quarantine" being considered by president, who will meet with governors at 5pm at Olivos.

Coronavirus pandemic

Fernández vows to clamp down on virus price gouging

17-03-2020 12:04 Peronist president says he will put "AFIP to work against speculators," saying he will not "tolerate rogues taking us for fools."

Price increases

Inflation in February came in at 2%, the lowest in two years

12-03-2020 17:16 Prices increases slow to slowest in the last two years, according to INDEC. Inflation in last 12 months now totals 50.3%.

Economic indicators

Data shows businesses in Argentina cutting jobs amid crisis

09-03-2020 08:00 Argentina lost 28,500 private sector jobs in December, the worst monthly decline in four years, according to government data released on Thursday.

Bloomberg

Argentina faces catch-22 on peso debt bomb after swap tradeoff

06-03-2020 15:37 The local debt of 1.8 trillion pesos (US $29 billion) is an amount roughly equivalent to all the cash in circulation in the country.

AGRO POLICY

Farmers unions call four-day strike after rise in soy duties

05-03-2020 21:56 Four producers' unions say they will halt grain and livestock trading for four days and go on strike, starting from Monday, in response to a rise in duties imposed by President Alberto Fernández.

Price increases

Fernández asks private sector to help ‘contain’ inflation in Argentina

05-03-2020 16:01 President urges employers to “contain” price increases, in a effort to stabilise Argentina's runaway inflation rate, which reached 53.8% in 2019.

Interest rate cuts

Central Bank will continue lowering rates to curb inflation

04-03-2020 17:00 Central Bank plans to keep reducing its key interest rates further as inflation is expected to decelerate and as a tool to reduce debt costs.

Free Trade

EU believes Argentina and Mercosur will ratify agreement

26-02-2020 15:17 Brussels maintains that the free trade agreement is "very balanced" and will boost the growth of the economy.

President in Congress

Alberto Fernández looks to relaunch term in speech to Congress

26-02-2020 13:41 President expected to discuss IMF support, abortion, and judicial reform in his upcoming speech to lawmakers, which will mark opening of congressional sessions.

Crisis in Venezuela

UN study: 1 of every 3 Venezuelans is facing hunger

24-02-2020 09:33 The study found that a total of 9.3 million people are moderately or severely food insecure, as wages stay stagnant amid unprecedented hyperinflation.

'TARIFAS'

Government likely to increase utility rates in June, says Cafiero

20-02-2020 16:16 Government will unfreeze public services rates starting from June, but increases will only hit “the sectors that can support them,” says Cabinet chief.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation slowed in January to 2.3%, reveals INDEC

13-02-2020 16:36 Lowest monthly rate recorded since July 2019, which prices increased by 2.2%. Since January 2019, prices in Argentina have increased by 52.9%, reveals bureau.

Colectivo chaos

38 bus routes affected by 24-hour UTA dissident strike

11-02-2020 12:52 Dissident faction of transport-workers union makes move against UTA leader Roberto Fernández, as it decries falling purchasing power.

POVERTY & HUNGER

Argentina’s double trouble: reducing poverty and debt

06-02-2020 16:42 President Alberto Fernández launches food coupons as a temporary solution to reduce poverty and hunger among vulnerable populations in Argentina.

Economic Crisis

Argentine Senate passes debt-restructuring bill

06-02-2020 13:02 The Fernández administration will have significant leeway in determining how to restructure the debt, which currently sits at around US$335 billion

Delaying Debt

Fidelity wins big on Buenos Aires bond payment

05-02-2020 12:25 Buenos Aires Province avoids immediate default by agreeing to use money from its coffers to make a principal debt payment, Kicillof says.

Bloomberg

Argentina seeks to expand beef-price caps as consumption sinks

31-01-2020 15:53 The government aims to expand the types of beef cuts that will be price-controlled in an effort to keep the product affordable amid rampant inflation.

FUEL PRICES

Government extends fuel price freeze until end of February

30-01-2020 13:38 Fernández administration to retain restrictions until the end of February in order to curb inflation.

INFLATION

Central Bank expects considerable drop in inflation this year

28-01-2020 14:05 Institution has made largest interest rate cut in the world in recent weeks, in an attempt to revive an economy that is forecast to contract by 2020 for the third straight year.

Bloomberg

Clean energy boom threatened by Argentina’s free-market fizzle

28-01-2020 12:50 Macri-era investment into clean energy along Argentina's Atlantic coast will be difficult to sustain in current economic climate, writes Jonathan Gilbert.

Bloomberg

Rate cuts revive February inflation spike fears

25-01-2020 09:59 The Central Bank has slashed interest rates the most in the world in recent weeks, reviving concerns about an oft-repeated monetary policy misstep that triggers faster inflation in the country near the start of the year.

Crisis in Venezuela

The faces of Venezuela's wide political divide

21-01-2020 12:31 In spite of the the crisis in Venezuela, which has hit relentlessly at the largely poor areas that is the ruling party's base of support, citizens of the embattled nation vary widely on their perspectives about the current political situation.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina records highest inflation rate since 1991

18-01-2020 09:07 Prices increased by 53.8% in President Macri’s final year in office, reveals INDEC.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

53.8%: Argentina posts the highest inflation rate in 28 years

15-01-2020 17:51 INDEC reveals prices last year increased by the highest rate since 1991, with inflation in December coming in at 3.7%.

Bloomberg

Paraguay set for economic rebound after recession

14-01-2020 16:04 Central Bank chief says Paraguay's economy will expand 4.1% as a broad recovery spanning agriculture to industry takes hold.

2019 IN REVIEW

How the economic crisis came to define 2019

28-12-2019 08:52 As the year draws to a close, Argentina’s economy is in “virtual default,” according to President Alberto Fernández, who has compared the current crisis to the country’s worst-ever in 2001.

KEY STORIES

Dec 9th-15th: What We Learned This Week

14-12-2019 12:06 What were the highlights of the past week?

NEW PRESIDENT

Alberto Fernández’s five biggest economic challenges

12-12-2019 08:16 President-elect took power on December 10 facing a challenging economic and social crisis, with a deep recession and runaway inflation.

PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER

IMF chief says Fund remains committed to Argentina

10-12-2019 23:27 Kristalina Georgieva says International Monetary Fund remains committed to Argentina as President Alberto Fernández is sworn in as new leader.

Transition 2019

Economic crisis looms large as Alberto Fernández assumes office

09-12-2019 17:37 Against a backdrop of near-economic disaster, president-elect's biggest challenges will be leading the country out of recession – and navigating his coalition government.

Transition of Power

Macri and Fernández embrace as Mass as Church calls for unity

09-12-2019 12:47 Church leader calls for "respect, unity and peace" as outgoing and incoming leaders attend Mass at Basilica of Our Lady of Luján,