Inflation in Costa Rica decreases due to falling fuel prices

Costa Rica’s consumer price index (CPI) registered a negative variation of -0.10% in September, driven by a drop in the prices of fuels and some foods, the country’s official statistical agency said Monday.

The variation left inflation of 2.53% over the past 12 months (through September), below the inflation target of 3% set by the Central Bank of Costa Rica for this year, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).

The CPI accumulated in the first nine months of the year is 1.5%, the INEC said.

Fuels had an important impact on the September price drop, with a 7% reduction in the price of gasoline and 2.35% in diesel.

The most significant price reductions occurred in the groups of clothing and footwear (-0.72%) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (-0.55%), as indicated by the INEC.

On the contrary, the groups of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes (0.74%) and of various goods and services (0.56%) rose in price.