The monthly variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 0.11% in February 2023, while year-on-year inflation fell 86 basis points, going from 7.24% in January 2023 to 6.38% in February of this year.
When offering the information, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) says that it is expected that during the year 2023 once the interannual inflation will converge to the target range established in the Monetary Program of 4% ± 1% and that the conditions are given For the start of the normalization of the Monetary Policy, this should contribute to the year-on-year expansion of the Dominican economy gradually recovering.
It indicates that the greatest contribution to the low inflation in February 2023 was Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, for a negative variation rate of 0.44%. In addition, the result of -0.79% of the Communications group index had an impact. Conversely, the groups Miscellaneous Goods and Services (0.80%), Restaurants and Hotels (0.86%) and Housing (0.30%) contributed.
food give way
The variation of -0.44% in the price index of the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group is mainly due to the price decreases observed in items with a high weight in the family basket such as green plantains (-8.63%), potatoes (- 16.50%), onions (-13.43%), chili peppers (-7.33%), ripe plantains (-6.79%), garlic (-8.45%), tomatoes (-4.85%) and fresh chicken (-0.19%).
While other food goods registered increases in their prices such as sour lemons (16.76%), pasteurized orange juice (3.50%), eggs (1.30%), pork (1.39%), chicken broth (1.75%), green pigeon peas (6.20%) and rice (0.33%), says the BCRD report.
Communications reflected a variation of -0.79% in February 2023, basically due to the drop in prices of the combined services of telephony, pay television and internet by -2.52% (streaming).