This Wednesday, President Gustavo Petro reacted to the inflation of 11.44% so far this year, the highest indicator in the last 23 years and which shows a worrying increase in the cost of living.
“The price of food continues to drive the inflationary rhythm of Colombia; this time less because of international inflation, more because of the floods. Energy services lessen its impact,” Petro said, on his Twitter account.
The president also criticized the Banco de la República’s decision to raise interest rates as a measure to contain high inflation. “Is it useful to raise the interest rate to contain inflation? No,” said the president.
“The rise in the internal interest rate, which was opposed by the finance minister, but had the support of the entire board of directors of Banco de la República, will only transfer the world recession to the Colombian economy,” he added. leader.
“The real intention of raising internal interest, contrary to our proposal, has to do with avoiding capital outflows due to the rise in the US interest rate. It could be avoided with a transitory tax on remittances to capital swallows,” Petro said.
“The Constitutional Court ordered the Banco de la República to adjust its decisions to the growth of the economy and employment. The rise in the interest rate goes against the economic growth and employment of Colombians,” added the president.
In his Twitter account, the president said that “the government will deepen its anti-inflationary policy with structural measures. The tax reform to large fortunes, the fertilizer subsidy, the agrarian reform, food in poor neighborhoods, and the change in the energy rate formula.
“We will seek to strengthen public banking and increase competition in the financial sector to achieve low interest rates in the food-producing sector and the popular urban economy in the process of industrialization,” the president added.
Terrible news, inflation shot up in September to 11.44%. This is the highest in 23 years. Food hit the pockets of Colombians again
Worrisome. Colombian households are increasingly in a hurry because money is not enough to buy the basic goods of the family basket. Inflation does not come down from the ceiling and in its annual variation, until September, stood at 11.44%, very far from the 4.21 that was registered in the same period of 2021, or the 1.97% that the country had in 2020, the year of the economic crisis.
This was announced by the new director of the Dane, Piedad Urdinola, when presenting the statistics around the Consumer Price Index (CPI), in which it is evident that, once again, food, accommodation and restaurants and hotels continue to being the greatest weight.
In the annual variation, food had an inflation of 26.62%, while household goods recorded a figure of 16.27% and restaurants 16.20%. The fact that food is so expensive and inflation in restaurant meals does not have the same exponential rate of increase implies, according to Urdinola’s explanation, that families are reducing eating out, precisely because of the high prices and the uncertainty generated by inflationary pressure on household income.
In the food group, among the products that are putting the most pressure on the pockets of Colombians there are the egg, with an inflation of 30.91%, and rice, with a figure of 33.60%, which indicates that it is the citizens with the lowest incomes who are being most affected by the shortage.
Tomato also had a visible increase in prices, registering a CPI of 29.91%; while fresh fruits showed a price variation of 28.87% in the 12-month data.
The highest since the crisis of 99
The director of the statistics entity highlighted that it is the highest inflation since January 1999when there was a great economic depression, related to an increase in public and private debt aggravated by an unusual increase in interest rates, mortgage crisis and laxity in granting credit, among others (something that sounds similar to the current reality).
In the month
only in september, The CPI registered a variation of 0.93%, almost three times more than what it registered in the same month of 2021: 0.38%. As for the year to date, until September, inflation is at 10.08%, much more than double what was recorded in the same period of the previous year (4.33%).
Both in the month and in the calendar year and the twelve months, households are feeling the scarcity of basic items that they cannot stop buying, since they are essential. This is the case of food and non-alcoholic beverages, only in September, the component had an inflation of 1.61% in the month. Similarly, clothing and footwear had an increase in prices of 1.33% in September; while restaurants and hotels had a CPI of 1.03%.
In contrast, spending branches such as education had inflation below the national average and stood at 0.80%.
The statistics also show signs that recreation and culture ceased to be a priority for families, the monthly variation of this item was 0.69%. Meanwhile, transportation had an inflation of 0.69% and accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels showed a CPI of 0.57%.
What annual inflation shows
In the last 12 months, according to Dane statistics, electricity services have registered an impressive variation in consumer prices. As of September, the figure is 27.29%. To a large extent, this upward trend that continues and which has already been the subject of controversy in Colombia and a summons to political control debates in the Congress of the Republic, is explained by what is happening in Santa Marta, where the cost of this service has increased by 45.77%, followed by Sincelejo, with a variation of 44.01%.
by cities
In what has to do with inflation by cities, the acquisition of the family basket is costing the most expensive Colombians is Valledupar, if the situation is analyzed only in the month of September. In the capital of Cesar, the index was 0.58%, while Tunja was at the opposite extreme, with 0.71%.