*Ecuador’s national statistics institute (Inec) has released the latest consumer price index, which showed monthly deflation of 0.99% in December 2024. This was down from the 0.26% deflation registered in November and brought the annual inflation rate in December to 0.53% – down from 1.51% in November. The biggest driver of deflation in December was housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (-0.96%), followed by food & non-alcoholic drinks (-0.05%) and healthcare (-0.01%).