El Salvador was one of the Latin American countries least affected by inflation in 2023

The inflationary index registered by El Salvador last year was the lowest in Central America and one of the lowest in the continent.

With an inflationary percentage of 1.23% as of December 2023, El Salvador is among the least affected nations in the region by this phenomenon, ratified this week by a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

El Salvador’s performance regarding this economic indicator, accumulates, according to data revealed by the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), 16 months of sustained reduction, and last December’s mark (1.23%) is 6.09% far from the one the country maintained in December 2022, which was 7.32%.

With these results, El Salvador is also the nation with less inflation in Central America, according to ECLAC data, and in second place is Panama with an index of Panama 1.5 %; followed by Guatemala with 4.18 %; Honduras with 5.19 %; and Nicaragua with 5.6 %. All with data as of December 2023.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica is a particular case since with -1.77 % it is in deflation or negative inflation, a phenomenon that is understood as a general and continuous fall in the prices of the economy, and that this Central American nation has been experiencing since mid-2023.

The Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayem, highlighted in the social network X Cepal’s reiteration of the good results obtained by the country, which are attributed to the strategies promoted by the Government of President Nayib Bukele to prevent the international escalation of prices that began before the Russia – Ukraine conflict, in March 2022.

“El Salvador closed 2023 with one of the lowest inflation in the region”, the official highlighted.

HYPERINFLATION

ECLAC also called attention to the situation in Argentina, a country that with a rate of 211.4 % suffers the highest inflation in the world, and that configures “the highest figure since the hyperinflation of 1989-1990, after having reached 94.8 % in 2022”.

In the case of Venezuela, by the end of December last year, the indicator was at 189.8 % and is followed by Cuba with a rate of 31.34 %, these three are the most affected in Latin America.

“Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba exhibit chronic inflation problems, high and sustained inflation rates over time,” ECLAC points out.

The entity concluded that in general the region recorded an average of 3.8 %, and projections for this year indicate that if geopolitical tensions and the rise in food and fuel prices continue, the inflationary trend could rise.

Source: Diario El Salvador