As of July 2022, Colombia recorded a inflation of 10.21%, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane). The data was 6.24 percentage points higher than that reported in the seventh month of 2021, when it was 3.97%.
July 2022 inflation becomes the highest that the country has recorded in the 21st century.
(See: The sectors that drove inflation in July in Colombia).
Added to this is the first time in more than 22 years that the figure returns to two digits. The last time it happened was in april 2000, when inflation was 10%.
The current figure of 10.21% comes as the Colombian economy outperforms its peers and the weaker peso drives up import costs.
In addition, it is well above the objective set by the Banco de la República: a annual inflation of 3%.
(See: Foods that rose, fell and maintained their price, according to the Dane).
At the end of July, the Issuer raised the interest rate to 9%, the highest since 2009, and indicated that it could continue raising it, although at a slower pace.
The entity has also estimated that the Colombian economy would grow 6.9% in 2022. The expansion of the country in 2022 would exceed that of Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Peru, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund.
(See: Inflation in Venezuela falls to 5.3% in July).
Inflation has accelerated in both developed and emerging markets over the past year as demand recovered from the pandemic before supply fully recovered.
That got worse later with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which hit energy and grain supplies.
BRIEFCASE
*With data from Bloomberg
