The cost of the Argentine shopping basket soared by 9% in February

Buenos Aires, 17 Mar An Argentine needed 12,108 pesos (about 110 dollars) in February to cover the cost of the basic basket and not fall below the indigence line, an increase of 9% compared to the previous month and confirming the advance of the inflation rate in the South American country, the Institute reported on Thursday National Statistics and Censuses (Indec). According to the agency's latest report, this is the largest monthly increase in the entire historical series for the basic food basket, which covers products such as bread, milk, rice, fruits and eggs in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The biggest monthly growth to date occurred in September 2018, when the basic basket increased by 8.5% amid the presidency of liberal Mauricio Macri (2015-2019). In this sense, the basic basket increased by 52.2% compared to the same month last year and accumulated a 13.5% increase in the first two months of 2022. With regard to the total basic basket, which marks the poverty line, it stood at 27,122 pesos (about 247 dollars) in February, an increase of 6.6 per cent compared to the previous month. Argentine President Alberto Fernández promised that Friday “the war against inflation” will begin in the South American country, after the presumable approval of the new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and amid the economic repercussions of the conflict in Ukraine. Argentina has suffered high inflation rates for decades, which in February recorded a year-on-year increase of 52.3 per cent, with a sharp jump in food. The unstoppable increase in prices partly explains the high rates of poverty in the country: according to Indec, 40.6% of Argentines live below the poverty line and another 10.7% suffer from poverty conditions. CHIEF jacb/rgm/cfa