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First modification: 02/11/2026 - 02:24

Monthly inflation in Argentina rose to 2.9% in January and marked the fifth consecutive month of increases in this comparison, while the interannual rate accelerated to 32.4%, one tenth more than in December. The postponement of a new measurement method and the resignation of the head of the statistics institute strain confidence in the data and put pressure on the Government.

The monthly inflation data in Argentina was the highest level since last August and chained five consecutive months of increases, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec) reported this Tuesday, February 10.

The figure of 2.9% represents a slight increase compared to 2.8% in December and is substantially different from the 1.9% registered in August of last year, when the disinflation process seemed more constant.

The increase in prices was mainly driven by the items of food and beverages, restaurants and hotels, in a context of recomposition of rates and relative adjustments that continue to impact the pockets of Argentines, although at a slower speed.

“It consolidates an acceleration trend that starts in August, it is not a good number,” economist Elisabet Bacigalupo, from the consulting firm ABECEB, told AFP. The specialist stressed that year-on-year inflation has also shown signs of rebound for two months, despite remaining at significantly lower levels than those observed in recent years.

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However, in the streets there are conflicting opinions, while some assure that they still see a high challenge in how prices move in the country, others consider that despite the recent increases, the way to go to drown inflation is increasingly smaller.

"I think that, in general, things maintain their prices. I say this from my position as a shopkeeper and also as a consumer. Some things maintain their prices more, others less. You don't see many price adjustments; some price lists change. So, well, I think things are more or less on the right track," Mirta Andrasmik, a shopkeeper from Buenos Aires, told the Reuters agency.

Controversy over inflation measurement

The data comes at a time of institutional tension for Indec, after its head, Marco Lavagna, resigned last week, who disagreed with the Government's decision to postpone the implementation of a new method of measuring the price index, developed with assistance from the International Monetary Fund and based on an update of the consumer basket.

Currently, the CPI is calculated with weights derived from spending surveys dating back more than two decades, which no longer reflect the consumption patterns of Argentine households.

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The new index was scheduled to come into effect in mid-2025 and, as explained by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, Lavagna aspired to publish the January data under this new methodology.

However, President Javier Milei and his economic team considered that the change should be made once the disinflation process was “fully consolidated.”

The decision and the abrupt departure of Lavagna impacted the public perception of the independence and credibility of official statistics, but doubts also grew about the successful inflationary results of the Milei Administration, because although the CPI data that Argentina records today are much lower than those seen in the Government of the leftist Alberto Fernández, the economic crisis is not completely stabilized in the streets of the Southern Cone country. Others agree with Milei's argument for not implementing the new measurement format:

“And I think that, well, Lavagna wants to be honest with what he does, and the president (Javier Milei) wants to maintain continuity so that things are comparable, because if in the middle we change, we measure in yards and then in inches and we add and subtract, we receive anything,” assured independent worker Atilio Rugomyi, to the Reuters agency.

However, although the criticism is strong for the Government, some analysts assure that the adoption of the new method would not have resulted in higher inflation but, instead, could have been slightly lower.

Despite the recent acceleration, inflation shows a strong deceleration in historical perspective. After closing 2023 at 211.4% year-on-year, following the initial devaluation of the peso under the new Government, the indicator fell to 31.5% in 2025, its lowest level in eight years, before rebounding again at the start of 2026.

With information from AFP and Reuters.

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