Argentina’s yearly inflation surged to 83% in September

Argentina’s annual inflation surged to a new 30-year high in September as policymakers struggle to tame some of the world’s fastest consumer price increases.

Consumers prices in South America’s second-largest nation rose 83 percent from a year ago, according to government data published Friday. That rise was below the current 83.45 percent level in Turkey. Monthly inflation stood at 6.2 percent, below economists’ estimates for a 6.7-percent increase. 

“This is the second consecutive month that we’ve managed to reduce inflation, but it’s a number that doesn’t yet satisfy me,” Economy Minister Sergio Massa said on the sidelines of an event in Washington DC. “Our obsession has to be to work every month to continue on this descending path.”

Investors see Argentina’s government lacking a credible strategy to anchor both prices and the currency, which is down 32 percent so far this year, the most in Latin America, despite a cobweb of controls.

Instead, President Alberto Fernández has opted for a mix of traditional and unconventional steps. His administration has implemented temporary price freezes, currency controls and import restrictions. It recently imposed new taxes on travel abroad with the World Cup in Qatar next month and for concerts, piling up a list of informal exchange rates. 

Economists surveyed by Argentina’s Central Bank see inflation reaching 100 percent by the end of this year.