Dominican Republic: Inflation picks up slightly in April
Consumer prices rose 0.40% in April over the previous month, up from March’s 0.37% rise. According to the Central Bank, April’s figure was driven by higher prices for transport and food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Inflation rose from 3.9% in March to 4.1% in April, marginally above the midpoint of the Central Bank’s inflation target range of 3.0%–5.0%. Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy prices, picked up to 2.7% from 2.6% in March.
At its 27 April monetary policy meeting, the Central Bank kept the main policy rate unchanged at 5.25%, where it has been since August 2017. The Bank justified its decision by highlighting that inflation is currently comfortably within the target range, and is expected to remain so over the forecast horizon. In addition, the economy is enjoying a resurgence in growth following a lull in the middle of last year, meaning that further monetary stimulus—following last July’s loosening—was unwarranted.