Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina’s inflation accelerated in October, led by higher prices for clothing and food, said Javier Paz, an economist at Ecolatina research company.

Annual inflation quickened to 14.1 percent in October from 14 percent in September, according to Buenos Aires-based Ecolatina. Consumer prices rose 1.3 percent from September, said Ecolatina, which tracks prices on 500 goods and services.

“Inflation was slowing through September because companies cut some prices to maintain sales during the peak of the financial crisis,” Paz said in a telephone interview. “Their costs keep rising on higher energy and wage costs, and they started to pass those increases on to consumers.”

The government may say today that prices rose 6.3 percent last month from a year ago and 0.6 percent from September, according to the median estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Analysts and politicians such as Vice President Julio Cobos have questioned the official reports, saying the national statistics agency has underreported price increases since former President Nestor Kirchner made personnel changes in 2007. The government has denied any manipulation.

The National Statistics Agency will release inflation data at 2 p.m. New York time.

“It’s really hard to fight inflation if we continue to lack real figures that could show how bad the problem is,” Paz said. “Argentines keep expecting prices to rise 20 percent in the next 12 months because the country doesn’t have a calculation of real inflation.”

Ecolatina forecasts inflation will slow to 14.5 percent this year from 23.5 percent in 2008. Inflation will quicken to 17 percent in 2010, Paz said.

In a bid to restore faith in the accuracy of its statistics, the government appointed a board of academics to review the prices of goods and services that make up the inflation index. Economy Minister Amado Boudou said the review would put an end to questions about the official data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires at eraszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 12, 2009 11:29 EST