LatinNews Daily - 22 December 2023

*Mexico’s national statistics institute (Inegi) has released consumer price index figures for the first half of December, which show that inflation was 0.52% compared to the previous two-week period. With this figure, annual inflation stood at 4.46%. December’s figures are down from the 0.63% bi-weekly inflation rate recorded during the first half of November but up from annual inflation rate of 4.32%. The core price index, which excludes volatile items from its calculation, was 0.46% compared to the previous two weeks and 5.19% in yearly terms. Within the core index, the prices of goods increased by 0.32% at a fortnightly rate whereas those of services increased by 0.63%. Annual inflation in the first half of December, was above all estimates made in a Reuters poll of economists on 20 December, whose median forecast stood at 4.36%.