The government has started preparing the ground for announcing bad news. This Tuesday the official inflation data for January will be released and all private forecasts point to it it will be higher than the 5.1% recorded last December. Consultants estimate it in the range of 5.5 to 6%.
In this context, the Secretary of Industry, José Ignacio de Mendiguren, today anticipated a new setback in the measures to stabilize it. “Yes, meUnfortunately we see that the figure (January inflation) is higher than the previous month, which worries us“He admitted in conversation with La García on AM 750 radio.
After falling to 4.9% in November, the CPI rose to 5.1% in December despite the extension of the price agreements. And now consultants interviewed by the Central Bank expect a 5.6% increase in January. They also forecast 97.6% inflation for 2023, up from 94.8% in 2022.
De Mendiguren attributed the hike to a move “record-breaking” tourism and “seasonal problems”. “Undoubtedly when that happens, prices are abused. The limit is often set by purchasing power. People still buy despite prices they can’t validate,” he said.
The official recalled that inflation in August was 7.4% and projected for the following 12 months to reach 140% annually. “When we get it down to 5%, that projection goes down to 80%, that’s the path we need to keep going,” he said in statements to AM 750.
In another radio interview, he pointed to the increase in flesh noting that he had a “Huge delaylast year, for which he “almost failed to adjust”. Increased slaughter of cattle due to drought in the countryside has reduced the cattle herd, which has ended up having an impact on cattle prices in recent weeks and on the January CPI.
Therefore, the secretary of commerce, Matías Tombolini, anticipated that the government is negotiating a new agreement on prices for meat. In an interview with Urbana Play, he announced that they will relaunch Cortes Cuidados with cheaper prices for empty meat, matambre, skirt, roast cover, buttocks and shoulders.
On income, De Mendiguren said that “the problem is that those who have a job don’t have enough money. This reveals us, that’s why we try to lower inflation and, on the other hand, we convene parities and the wage council”. , although he recognized it “If real wages don’t recover, there is no sustainable economic model.”
“Inflation is the most serious problem, it’s the most worrying because it reduces the purchasing power of wages,” he said.
On the other hand, the industry secretary came across the statement released last week by Together for Change about an “economic bombshell” that the Frente de Todos would drop.
“If there are people who know about bombs, it’s those of Together for Change: they did it in 2001 and 2019”, Shot. “I’m surprised the UCR supports this ‘bomb’ thing. They lived until 2001,” she added.
In this context, he warned that “there are important people who bet on a sudden devaluation”.
“Today, in a country that cannot accumulate enough reserves, it is very vulnerable, any bullfight that four people put together, destabilizesYou have to fight against this. Without reservations and liquefaction of real wages, it’s a terrible combination, for this it is necessary to discourage expectations, ”she assured.
AQ
Source: Clarin
