February begins with a series of already confirmed increases that will keep that month’s inflation in double digits. For January, private consultancy firms They predict inflation around 20%still high, although 5.5 percentage points lower than the December record.
It is still too early to know whether this slowdown will continue into the next month, but these increases suggest that it will be a record high.
Increases confirmed
Prepaid. The minimum increase threshold communicated by prepaid pharmaceutical companies to their members is 27% and goes up to 30%. It was added to the 40% that these companies had applied in January after President Javier Milei’s DNU eliminated the limit on commission increases.
Subways. From February 4th the second tranche of the increase authorized by the Buenos Aires government for the subway fare will be applied. Tickets will range from $110 to $125. With this adjustment the service accumulates an increase of 56% in the first two months of the year.
Communications. In February there will be increases on phone, cable and internet, with increases of 25%, depending on the service and company.
Rentals. Although the law has been repealed and new fees have now been agreed between the parties, the old rate continues to apply for those with contracts stipulated before July last year. This implies a 147% increase according to the leasing contract index (ICL), measured by inflation and wages.
Increases not yet confirmed
Fuels. The fuel tax freeze expires on February 1, which has been in force since 2021 and was extended last November by the then minister Sergio Massa. If the tax is collected again, The price of fuel would increase by around 11% and a liter of super petrol would reach $775.
Since November, fuel prices have accumulated a 140% increase.
Buses and trains. The Government’s intention was to bring the minimum price of buses into the AMBA starting from February 1st From $76.92 to $270.00after applying a 251% increase. For trains the jump ranges from 169% to 247%, depending on the line. But this leap was stopped by the Federal Court No. 3 of Lomas de Zamora, in response to an appeal for protection presented by the mayor of Esteban Echeverría, Fernando Gray. Justice suspended the convening of the public hearing that preceded the officialization of the increase in tickets, arguing that the procedure is not adequate to guarantee citizen participation.
Schools. While these increases have not yet been finalized, they will most likely arrive in the next few days. This is because the government has allowed private educational institutions of all levels to do so set the value of your shares without limits. Thus, a Department of Commerce rule stating that the body had to authorize raises at colleges and universities was repealed.
Rates. The government’s original idea was that electricity and gas increases would begin to take effect from February. But now it is pending. On the one hand, although the preliminary hearings on the electricity rate increase have already concluded, the increase has not yet been announced.
If the distributors’ request were accepted, the increase would be 87% for 80% of users, which, added to the increase requested by the transporters, would bring the average ticket close to $8,000. This could be finalized in the next few days and there are chances that the increase will be retroactive to February 1st.
In the case of gas, the increases were postponed until March, to mitigate the impact on inflation.
Source: Clarin
