The inflation rate in Puerto Rico amounted to 5.8% on January 2023, this value represents a 0.2 percentile point reduction from the inflation experienced in the previous month of December 2022 and the third consecutive month with a reduction in interest rates. This ongoing reduction in inflation indicates the possibility for inflation rates to stabilize in the future. This higher than standardly acceptable inflation rate value, albeit improving, for January 2023 can be mainly attributed to two of the major components for the market.
Firstly, the Food & Beverages component experienced a significantly high interest in January 2023 of 11.1%, owed in a considerable part to the recent supply issues for food products causing the increase in prices as a response of this vital component for individuals. From the component of Food & Beverage the subcomponents with the highest inflation, and likely the most supply issues, were Eggs (89.8%) and Fresh Vegetables (31.3%).
The second component contributing to the higher inflation rates in January 2023 was Other Goods & Services that held a considerable inflation of 8.5% for the month, referring to for example the varied products and services not included on the other components such as tobacco products, haircut services, and funeral services to name a few. The subcomponents for Other Goods & Services of Miscellaneous Personal Services (11.8%) and Personal Care Products (6.4%) experienced the component guiding high inflation rates.
