Mexico’s year-on-year inflation accelerated more than expected in January due to an increase in energy prices and some foods, lowering expectations of a fall in the benchmark interest rate in the central bank decision on Thursday.

Mexico’s consumer price index rose 3.54%, statistics institute INEGI said on Tuesday, compared with 3.15% in December and above the 3.46% projected by analysts consulted in a Reuters poll.

Year-on-year core inflation, considered a better parameter to measure the trajectory of prices because it eliminates some highly volatile products, rose 3.84%, also slightly more than the 3.82% expected by the market. ,,

Banco de Mexico maintained the key interest rate at 4.25% in mid-December for the second consecutive time, and said that the “pause” after a downward cycle of more than a year provided room to confirm a convergent path of inflation towards its 3% target +/- one percentage point.

In January alone, prices rose 0.86%, while the core index posted a rate of 0.36%.

Low-octane gasoline, domestic LP gas and potatoes were the products that most drove the rise in prices during the first month of the year, while onions, air transport and packaged tourist services presented the sharpest drops.

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