The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Mendoza increased 2.8% in November and reached an accumulated value of 49.6% so far in 2018. The good news is that there was a clear deceleration compared to the months of September and October; the bad, is that even then the inflation of the province is the highest in the whole country.
According to reports published by the Directorate of Statistics and Economic Research (DEIE), the category that increased the most in the year is "transport and communications", with a variation of 63.8%. At this point, increases in fuels, passages and cell phone lines, among other products and services, are contemplated.
The second item that has had the most variation in 2018 is "equipment and home maintenance", with an increase of 58.5%. According to a survey carried out by Los Andes, until November there were household appliances with increases of over 100%, which explains to a large extent why this item is one of the protagonists of the IPC.
The prices of "housing and basic services" are not far behind, which in the first eleven months of 2018 rose 54.6%. In that case, the increase is directly related to the tariff increases of electricity, gas and water, which have had multiple adjustments in the province. It should be noted that this item has a lot of weight on the general CPI.
The same applies to "food and beverages", which undoubtedly make up the most sensitive item for the inflation index. According to the DEIE measurements, the prices of that item have already increased 49% so far in 2018.
Another increase that "hurts the pocket" of the people of Mendoza is that of "health care and health expenses". The prices linked to this item rose 47.1% between January and November, largely driven by the rise of the dollar. Referrers of the sector assured that the cost of all the inputs of the health sector are strongly linked to the exchange rate, with the exception of salaries and professional fees.
Something smaller is the cumulative increase in the prices included in the item "other goods and services". According to the measurements, the rise of 2018, in the absence of a month to complete, is 41.6% in this group of products and services.
Clothing, on the other hand, had a variation of 31.1%. Although some increases in this item can be attributed to seasonal issues, the accumulated analysis of the year clearly shows the trend in the price behavior of that sector. As can be seen, clothing has had price increases below general inflation, which is logical, considering the poor performance of sales of this item during this year.
Meanwhile, the items of "entertainment" and "education" increased 27.8% and 22.3% respectively, being the two items that have shown the smallest variations in the first eleven months of this year.