The consumer price index (CPI) in January 2021 registered a variation of 0.97% with respect to the month of December 2020, while the interannual inflation of the analytical or reference series associated with the new CPI basket (base October 2019-September 2020) was 5.35% at the end of January, the Central Bank reported this afternoon.

The monthly publication reports that annualized core inflation stood at 4.93%, slightly below the upper limit of the target range of 4% ± 1% established in the Monetary Program.

Variation by groups

The governing body explains that the analysis of the behavior of the CPI shows that the groups with the highest incidence in inflation in January 2021 were Transportation (2.08%); Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (1.06%); and Housing (1.11%); for a 79% of the variation of the index for the month. To a lesser extent, the groups Restaurants and Hotels (0.90%) and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (0.50%).

It adds that the Transportation group price index, registering an increase of 2.08%, was the one with the highest incidence in the CPI for the month of January 2021, mainly explained by the price increases of regular (4.81%) and Premium (4.81%) gasoline (4.80%), liquefied gas (LPG) for vehicles (5.83%) and diesel (4.46%), due to the weekly adjustments provided by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM).

In addition, the price increases of land transportation services in public cars (2.95%), motorcycle taxis (1.55%) and in buses of associated companies (2.38%).

These increases were partially offset by the reduction in the prices of tickets abroad (-20.94%), which occurs seasonally this season, with the effect that inflation in this group was not of greater magnitude.

The BC also explains that the 1.06% variation in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group index is mainly due to price increases in the meat class (5.27%), among which are fresh chicken (6.74%), meat pork (6.93%), beef (5.04%), ground beef (6.50%) and smoked cutlet (1.35%), as well as increases in eggs (2.50%), soybean oil (2.61%), rice (0.76%), avocado (9.34%), chicken broth (2.15%), sour lemons (15.25%), soft drinks (1.05%) and brown sugar (1.59%).

Meanwhile, other food goods reflected price reductions, such as onions (-18.11%), garlic (-15.40%), green bananas (-3.64%), potatoes (-3.22%), sweet potatoes (-8.62%) and pinto beans (-1.52%), which had an impact on the inflation of the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group in January 2021 not being more pronounced.

Regarding the price index corresponding to the Housing group, it varied 1.11% in January 2021, mainly due to the increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas for domestic use (LPG) by 5.83%.

Regarding the 0.90% growth experienced by the Restaurants and Hotels group index, it responds to a greater extent to the increase in the prices of some food services prepared outside the home, such as the dish of the day (0.70%), the service chicken (2.10%), food services with accompaniment (0.49%), sandwiches (1.09%) and pizza (1.34%).

Likewise, the CPI of the Miscellaneous Goods and Services group grew 0.50% in January 2021, mainly due to price increases in personal care services, such as men’s haircuts (0.67%), washing and hair styling ( 0.54%) and in personal care items such as deodorants (0.88%), perfumes (0.80%), toothpaste (0.47%), and razors (0.80%).