06:27 PM
The data of inflation for the last twelve months was 7.16%, figure lower than the 7.36% reported in March, and with which the indicator adjusted 13 months down.
According to Dane’s accounts, The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been pressured in the last year by the spending groups associated with education (11.40%), transportation (10.42%), restaurants and hotels (9.80%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (9.72%), accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (9.34%) and finally, health (7.18%), which were above the national average (7 .16%).
Piedad Urdinola, director of Daneindicated that variations greater than the national average of the CPI have been observed in Valledupar (9.35%), Sincelejo and Riohacha (8.69%).
The Cities with a lower dynamic of annual inflation are Villavicencio (5.36%), Popayán (5.48%) and Neiva (6.09%). In Medellín the annual CPI as of April was 7.41%, above the national average.
For April, the CPI stood at 0.59% A figure lower than that reported in the same month of the previous year of 0.78% and above the estimate of those consulted by the most recent Monthly Survey of Economic Expectations of the Bank of the Republic, which indicated 0.57%.
In the fourth month of this year, the so-called cost of living was driven by family spending items related to food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.16%) and accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (0.93%).
It is worth noting that products and services from the family basket such as rent, fresh fruits, electricity, potatoes, services related to co-ownershipbananas, meals in table service and self-service establishments, urban transportation and tree tomatoes, saw variations higher than the monthly CPI, which was 0.59%.
In the Monetary Policy Report presented on Tuesday by the The Technical Team of the Bank of the Republic indicated that inflation would continue to decline in 2024 at a higher rate than projected at the beginning of the year, due to lower inflationary pressures in goods and would close in December at 5.1% (previously 5.4%) and end 2025 at 3.4%.
The downward revision of the CPI for this year would be due in part to downward exchange pressures more accentuated than those incorporated in January, since until mid-December 2023 the dollar exchange rate was close to $4,000, but so far this year it has been below that ceiling.
Besides, significant reductions in the prices of some imported goods and positive supply shocks would be expected, especially in food (meals away from home).
The Monthly Survey of Economic Expectations of the Bank of the Republic projects an inflation of 5.62% for the end of this year and the Fedesarrollo Financial Opinion Survey predicts a CPI of 5.51%.
