{
  "id": 5620475,
  "title": "Milei Made Inflation Boring; the Bill Is Still Coming",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/milei-made-inflation-boring-the-bill-is-still-coming",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-04T17:54:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Rio Times",
    "slug": "the-rio-times",
    "url": "https://www.riotimesonline.com/argentina-inflation-milei-economy-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Argentina pulled off an unprecedented feat: making inflation feel like a background hum instead of a desperate drumbeat. Despite the government tightening its belt with deep spending cuts, the relentless climb of prices remained a stubborn reality for millions of families. National statistics showed monthly inflation hit a staggering 25.5% in December 2023 when Economy Minister Lionel Milieu first took office. The spike was fueled by the president's own decision to devalue the peso just days after his inauguration. By July 2026, inflation had finally eased to a still-stingy 2.1%, marking the best six-year reading. Even June 2026 saw inflation at a respectable 1.9%, a five-year high. However, the relief was fleeting. More than nine in ten Argentine households now carry some form of debt, with credit card spending on essentials like food jumping to 62.5%. Shockingly, roughly 44% of households now labor under a debt burden exceeding half of their monthly income. Argentina's delinquency rate for bank loans skyrocketed to 12.8% in June 2026, eclipsing rates in Brazil and Colombia. Milei once vowed to dismantle Argentina's central bank, but the lower house of Congress only recently passed a watered-down version that prohibits the bank from printing money to fund the government. The ruling highlights the limits of stability through decree. Milei also shelved a broader tax cut package for 2027, saying it was a matter of timing rather than abandonment. The peso trades in a crawling band system, with its daily fate tied to the gap between the official and informal \"blue dollar\" rates. Central bank reserves hit a record high of nearly US$51 billion by August 2026, while the benchmark interest rate stood at a jaw-dropping 29%. The IMF is lending Argentina US$20 billion in exchange for ongoing budget surpluses and rebuilt reserves. Argentina's official poverty rate stood at 28.2% in the second half of 2025, affecting 13.5 million people, while a private estimate from the Catholic University of Argentina put poverty near 31.7% in early 2026. While monthly economic activity rose modestly in June 2026 and the first half of the year, private economists warn of an uneven, \"saw-tooth\" pattern. A new pipeline is set to carry crude from the Vaca Muerta shale fields to the Atlantic port of Bahía Blanca, with exports expected by late 2026. Milei's party won a slim majority in October 2025 midterm elections, but the path to a second term remains uncertain as the Senate weighs support for the central bank reform bill.",
  "summary": "Milei's Argentina cut monthly inflation from 25% to low single digits — while household debt now touches nine in ten homes and reform battles reach the courts. The post Milei Made Inflation Boring; the Bill Is Still Coming appeared first on The Rio Times .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}