The median of the projections of 21 participants surveyed by the Reuters agency showed a rate of 7.26% for the general consumer price index (INPC) in the first half of March, slightly below the level of 7.48% in the second half of February. .
For the Underlying inflationconsidered a better parameter to measure the trajectory of prices, the survey indicates that it would have increased 8.15% at the annual rate.
Since Banco de México (Banxico) began its current tightening cycle in June 2021, the rate has increased by 700 basis points (bp) to its current level of 11%. Its last increase was 50 (bp) and it anticipated that in its next notice on March 30 it could apply a smaller rise.
The bank’s governor, Victoria Rodríguez, said last week in an interview with Reuters that although the latest inflation figures are good news, more data will have to be considered that will be published before the next meeting of the Governing Board.
Only in the first 15 days of March, prices would have grown by 0.28% compared to the previous fortnight, while an increase of 0.30% is expected for the core index, according to the survey.
The Inegi will disclose on Thursday the behavior of the consumer price index during the first half of March.
With information from Reuters