In December, inflation in Puerto Rico showed varied trends across different sectors according to the latest data. The overall inflation rate for all groups combined was recorded at 1.98%, when compared to October’s 2.7%, it shows how inflation has started to decrease.
This could be an effect on how Interest Rates have been in locked since July, which should start a deflationary effect on goods and services. The Fed as of 2023 still don’t see in the upcoming months that a reduction is a possibility. When compared to January’s 5.7% inflation, there’s been a total reduction of 3.79% in 2023, which could signal the effects of increasing interest rate and it gives a possible outlook of how it’s going to continue in 2024.
The food and beverage sector experienced a notable inflation rate of 2.8%, reflecting the changes in prices within this category. This rate indicates a more significant increase compared to other sectors, highlighting the impact on food prices over the year. Entertainment is another category where inflation is still high with 3.8%.
Although inflation has decreased during the years, many segments still are being heavily affected by supply chain constraints and high interest rates.
