Inflation in Buenos Aires City slowed to 1.7% in August

Inflation in Buenos Aires City decelerated to 1.7% in August, a decline of 1.2 percentage points from July's 2.9%, reported the city's Institute of Statistics and Censuses (IDECBA). The consumer price index (IPCBA) for goods and services rose 33.3% annually, just 0.1 percentage points higher than July's 33.2% increase. Nationwide, prices have climbed by 21.5% this year, with August's deceleration marking a return to a broader disinflationary trend that had temporarily halted after three months of consecutive declines, including a sub-2% reading in June – the first in nine months.

Housing, food, health, and transport were the primary drivers of the month's inflation, collectively adding 1.16 percentage points to the headline figure. The housing sector, including water, electricity, gas, and fuel, experienced a notable rise of 2.6%, largely due to adjustments in building service charges and rents. Meanwhile, food and non-alcoholic beverages surged by 1.8%, propelled by fruit prices (12.5%), bread and cereals (2.3%), and milk, dairy products, and eggs (1.6%).

This data offers an early glimpse into the national statistics bureau's upcoming figures, set to be released on Thursday.

Private analysts anticipate the national inflation rate to also fall below the 2% mark. Goods prices rose by 1.6% in August, slightly below the 1.8% increase in services; year-to-date, the inflation rate stands at 21.5%.