Mexico City: Inflation in Mexico has eased its grip, remaining unchanged in September compared to August, following three consecutive months of increases.
Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) indicate that in September the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) registered a variation of 0.62 percent compared to the previous month, bringing the annual general inflation rate to 8.7 percent.
For a similar month, this is the highest level in the past 22 years and is in line with estimates made by economic analysts who predicted a rate of between 8.7 and 8.73 percent.
The 8.7 percent rate is the same as that recorded in August, but is lower than the 8.76 percent reported in the first half of September.
In fact, annual inflation for the Minimum Consumption Basket, which comprises a subset of 176 products and services included in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), i.e., the prices of the basic consumption basket, which has the greatest impact on most households, especially those with lower incomes, remained stable at 9.6 percent.
Inflationary pressures are primarily coming from rising food and services prices. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the largest increases came from the rise in the price of tomatoes (11.63 percent), lunch counters, diners, sandwich shops, and taco stands (1.01 percent), onions (11.37 percent), corn tortillas (2.09 percent), and electricity (2.02 percent).
Families, especially those with lower incomes, are suffering a direct impact on their wallets due to rising prices, as they must allocate a larger percentage of their income to the purchase of basic goods, and their purchasing power is diminished.
Jonathan Heath, deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico (BdeM), explained that "food inflation remains unabated, reaching 15.22 percent in the last half of September and continuing to be the segment with the highest price increases."
