Just over a month before the presidential election in Argentina, the country’s statistical office Indec said Wednesday that an already high inflation rate increased further.
In August, the inflation rate rose to 12.4% compared to the previous month, and to 124.4% from August 2022, Indec said.
The inflation rate in South America’s second-largest economy is one of the highest in the world. To finance the budget deficit, the central bank is constantly printing fresh money.
After the surprising success of the libertarian populist Javier Milei in the presidential primaries, the central bank strongly devalued the national currency, the peso, a month ago.
Milei will run in the presidential election on October 22 against Economy Minister Sergio Massa from the left Peronist government camp and former Interior Minister Patricia Bullrich from the conservative opposition.
Incumbent President Alberto Fernández will not seek re-election.
Argentina suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of much tax revenue.
ASHANTIBIZ
