The National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) reported that, In January 2022, the variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 1.67%a significant increase compared to what was registered in the same period of the previous year, which was 0.41%.
(Read: Annual inflation was close to 7% at the start of 2022).
It is even necessary go back to 1999, when inflation in the first month of the year was 2.21%, that is, 23 years ago no inflation was reported. inflation so high as the one registered in January of this year.
Since then, between 2020 and 2000, the increase in the cost of living for Colombians at the beginning of the year had reached a maximum of 1.29%, which occurred in January 2000 and 2016.
(Read: 2022, a year of high pressure for the price of the dollar).
In this regard, experts show a less optimistic view and they agree that measures must be implemented to stop the peak that shows inflation in January 2022.
For its part, Sergio Olartechief economist at Scotiabank Colpatrianoted that “an inflation close to 7% is not sustainable for the Colombian economy, and we believe that the Bank of the Republic in its meeting in March will raise the interest rate another percentage point, to send the signal to control inflation and to be able to make expectations from it begin to fall”.
For, Robert Angleeconomist and founding partner of the firm SAS inclusion., the threat of high inflation in January 2022 is reason enough to start carrying out effective strategies that the GDP growth rate.
Mind you, in the decade before COVID-19, inflation, which was never high, ate up half of the poverty-reducing effect of growth on average. The threat of inflation is reason enough not to rest on our laurels on the GDP growth rate.
— Roberto Angulo (@RobertoAnguloS) February 5, 2022
Martha Delgado, director of macroeconomic and sectoral analysis at Fedevelopmentalso trilled on his social network about the situation in the country: “We are already practically at the 7% that we expected for ‘entering the first half of 2022’. Food inflation is already at 19.9%”.
BRIEFCASE