Economy in brief
YPF UPS PETROL PRICES 5%
State-run energy company YPF this week raised consumer petrol prices by five percent. Fuel companies are warning it won’t be the last price hike this year, claiming a 30-percent delay. The five percent is reported to have surprised even the Energy Minister, Javier Iguacel. The recently appointed minister had met with fuel company bosses last week who suggested a three-percent rise. Premium fuel products in Buenos Aires City are currently fetching 32.34 pesos (US$1.2) per litre on average.
GOV’T LIFTS MINIMUM FARE RULE ON AIRFARES
Commercial airlines operating on domestic air routes in Argentina will no longer be subject to a regulated minimum fare, the national government confirmed Monday. The Transport Ministry hopes the measure — which will come into effect on August 1 — will encourage more companies to enter Argentina’s underdeveloped domestic air travel market, boosting tourism. “The government wants to boost foreign tourist arrivals and consumption inside the country,” Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich told El Cronista. The government also announced that minimum regular fares would be eliminated for medium- and long-distance buses. However, industry leaders weren’t as welcoming about the modification, complaining that more changes need to be made to improve competitiveness.
CONSULTANTS PROJECT 30% INFLATION, LESS GROWTH
Market consultants in Argentina have raised their expectations for 2018 inflation from 27.4 to 30 percent while scaling down their growth projection from 1.3 to 0.5 percent since May, a Central Bank report has revealed. The INDEC national statistics bureau has registered a retail price inflation of 11.2 percent for the first five months of the year with the Mauricio Macri government publicly admitting that there will be more inflation. “The market expects 30 percent inflation for 2018,” indicated the monetary authority in its REM report. June inflation in Argentina totalled between 3.5 and 4.1 percent, private consultancy firms this week reported. Consultancy firm Elypsis put June inflation at 3.8 percent nationwide. For its part, the Germán Abdala Foundation set its Price Measurement Index (IRP) at four percent for June, for a 29.6 percent annual inflation estimate. “In this sense, we are starting to see the impact of the run on the currency on prices”, the organisation said in a statement.