The Central Bank has announced that the Consumer Price Index (IPC) for the month of May 2018 registered an increase of 0.26% over April’s rate with an accumulated inflation for the period January to May of 1.22%.
Over the last 12 months inflation of the IPC stands at 2.7% but this does not include volatile farm prices, alcohol and tobacco products, fuel and transport. The Central Bank reasons that excluding these items offers a clearer estimate of the effect of the monetary policy on inflation.
Annual inflation overall from May 2017 to May 2018 is at 4.47% that is within the goal of 4.0%± 1.0% established in the Monetary Program for the year.
The key drivers for May inflation were transport (up by 0.86%) due to fuel price increases, and housing (up to 1.17%), counteracted by the food and non-alcoholic beverages, which saw a decrease of -0.25%.
Several foodstuffs have shown a decrease in price such as fresh chicken (-2.17%), green plantains (-3.73%), onions (-11.01%), sour limes (-11.90%), seasonal fruits such as passionfruit and mango (-13.51%), potatoes (-3.93%), ripe plantains (-3.02%) and green bananas (-1.10%). Those which showed an increase in price were cassava (5.13%), avocados (6.83%), sour oranges (13.32%), beef (1.49%) and oranges (2.58%).
Read more in Spanish:
https://www.diariolibre.com/economia/inflacion-en-mayo-fue-de-0-26-y-la-tasa-anualizada-alcanza-4-47-NJ10084900
https://www.bancentral.gov.do/notas_bc/2018/06/11/2981/bcrd-informa-que-el-ipc-de-mayo-registr-una-variacin-de-026
