Peru's benchmark consumer price index rose 0.43 percent in July from the previous month, bringing the 12-month inflation rate to 3.56 percent, the government said.
Government statistics agency INEI said Friday that higher prices for certain food products, transportation and health care were the main reasons for the increase in the period under review.
The growth in prices in the seventh month of the year pushed the annual inflation number above the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) of Peru's target which range from 1.0 percent to 3.0 percent.
Likewise, senior officials of the Ollanta Humala administration expect inflation to remain within the central bank's target range for 2014. Inflation in 2013 stood at 2.86 percent.
In July, the heavily-weighted food and beverage sector was up 0.81 percent in July, while transportation and health-care costs gained 0.62 percent and 0.30 percent, respectively.
Prices in the restaurant and hotel sector increased 0.22 percent while entertainment and culture costs increased 0.19 percent, the INEI said.
The BCR uses the consumer price index for the Peruvian capital as the benchmark for setting monetary policy in the nation. Last July, the entity cut its monetary policy reference rate to 3.75 percent from 4 percent, citing sluggish economic growth.
The Andean nation’s economy increased by 1.84 percent in May and 2.0 percent in April, while March and February posted a top-line increase of 4.9 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.
(END) AQR/DLG
Published: 8/1/2014