For underlying inflation, a better parameter to measure the price trajectory because it eliminates highly volatile products, estimates indicate that it would have fallen to 3.68%, after having rebounded in the previous two fortnights.
The Bank of Mexico (Banxico), which has an inflation goal of 3% +/- one percentage point, lowered the funding rate by 25 basis points in mid-December for the fifth time in 2024 – to bring it to 10% – and He announced that he could continue reducing the cost of credit throughout this year, even with larger cuts.
In an interview with Reuters, Deputy Governor Jonathan Heath said at the time that the central bank’s governing board could discuss a cut of up to 50 basis points in its first decision of the year scheduled for February 6.
However, the official acknowledged this week that the scenario that is about to materialize is very different from the one that was being contemplated due to the policies that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, could take after his inauguration on Monday.
Even so, a survey among economic specialists released by Citi this week showed that, although the consensus anticipates a cut of 25 basis points for February, much of the market foresees one of half a percentage point.
In the first half of January alone, consumer prices would have increased 0.29% according to the survey, while for the underlying index the median projections showed 0.23%.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) will release on Thursday the behavior of the consumer price index during the first 15 days of January.
