The Argentine economy is facing an alarming situation. The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) released the consumer price index (CPI) numbers for February, registering a 6.6% increase compared to January’s figure. This rise was mainly due to food and beverage prices, which increased by 9.8%, with meats leading the way with a 30% hike in some cases.
These figures have pushed inflation levels to record-breaking heights, reaching 102.5% year-on-year growth – the highest number since records began being kept in 1975 – causing alarm among local analysts who fear that this trend could worsen if not addressed soon enough by economic policies from government officials or central banks interventions such as increasing interest rates or currency devaluation measures like those taken last year when it reached 40%.
In order for these measures to be successful they must be accompanied by fiscal reforms that address issues such as tax collection efficiency and public spending management so that businesses can continue their activities without too much disruption while also avoiding further increases on already high prices affecting citizens’ purchasing power negatively during what is already an uncertain economic time due both global pandemic effects as well domestic political turmoil seen over recent months making matters worse for Argentines struggling against rising costs of living expenses .
