Argentina inflation cooled to 113% before election price surge

Annual inflation in Argentina eased slightly in July before last Sunday’s stunning election result sent prices soaring.

Consumer prices rose 113.4 percent from a year ago, below expectations but still near the highest level since 1991, according to government data published Tuesday. On a monthly basis, inflation sped up to 6.3 percent, a reversal of two months of cooling prices but below economists’ expectations of 7.1 percent.  

Construction, recreation and health care led all price increases on a monthly basis in July. 

The figures are already outdated after outsider candidate Javier Milei pulled off a shocking victory in Sunday’s presidential primary election, defeating both of Argentina’s established coalitions. 

The results pushed President Alberto Fernández to devalue the official peso exchange rate 18 percent on Monday, by far the biggest one-day move in years. Local businesses hiked prices by even more.  

Argentine economists are still sifting through high-frequency data and expect monthly August inflation to surpass 10 percent, a level not seen since 2002 that will guarantee the annual rate charges further into triple-digit territory.