Argentina Monthly Inflation Surges to 12.4%, Worst Since 1991

  • Consumer prices in August rose 12.4% m/m; 124.4% y/y
  • Double-digit monthly gains last seen in 1990s hyperinflation
Prices displayed at a butcher shop in Buenos Aires on Aug. 18, days after Argentina’s central bank devalued the peso.Photographer: Erica Canepa/Bloomberg
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Inflation soared beyond expectations in Argentina last month after an abrupt currency devaluation, deepening the nation’s economic crisis before a presidential election in October.

Consumer prices rose 12.4% in August from July, the highest monthly increase since 1991 when the country was exiting hyperinflation, according to government data published Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 11.5%. On a yearly basis, prices rose 124.4%, which is also a three-decade high.