Venezuela

Consumer Prices August 2002

The Numbers in Detail

The Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) reports:

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the metropolitan Caracas area rose 2.4% in August, which represented a deceleration when compared to the July result (3.6%) but was well above the monthly increase reported in August of last year (0.6%).

The development of the CPI in August reflects lower monthly increases in the prices of the following categories: food and non-alcoholic beverages (3.6%), household equipment (2.1%), health (1.7%), transportation (3.4%), communications (0.1%), recreation and culture (1.7%), as well as diverse goods and services (2.6%).  At the same time the following categories experienced an acceleration in price increases:  alcoholic beverages (2.6%) and housing services (5.0%).
 

LatinFocus Comment

On an annual basis the inflation rose from 22.0% in July to 24.2%.  The higher inflation this year is the result of the inflationary pass-through from the February devaluation, which is only partially being offset by downside pressures resulting from weak domestic demand.

Forecasts: This indicator is covered in the LatinFocus Consensus Forecast.  For 5-year projections, including quarterly forecasts for the next two years, please click here