Colombia: Inflation climbs in July amid a weakening of the peso
Consumer prices rose 0.22% over the previous month in July, following a 0.27% month-on-month upturn in June. July’s print reflected a softer increase in the prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transport. Moreover, prices for clothing and footwear, and restaurants and hotels swung to decline.
Inflation shot up to 3.8% in July from 3.4% in June. Nevertheless, it remained within the Central Bank’s target range of 3.0% plus or minus 1.0 percentage points. Rising food prices led the charge, partly owing to a weaker peso boosting the cost of food imports. Meanwhile, annual average inflation inched down to 3.3% in July from 3.4% in June.
Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile items including fresh food and fruit, rose 0.2% over the previous month in June—the latest month for which data is available—mirroring May’s reading. Lastly, core inflation creeped up to 3.3% in June from 3.2% in May.