In Argentina, annual inflation has risen to an incredible 108.8 percent due to the ongoing and severe economic crisis. In April alone, consumer prices rose by 8.4 percent, according to the statistics office INDEC in Buenos Aires on Friday.
Inflation in the South American country is one of the highest in the world. To finance the budget deficit, the central bank is constantly printing fresh money. President Alberto Fernandez’s centre-left government has tried numerous measures to boost foreign currency inflows and support the steadily weakening national currency, the peso – but so far without success.
Inflated state apparatus, informal economy
South America’s second-largest economy suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large shadow economy that deprives the state of much tax revenue. A historic drought has exacerbated the situation in recent months. Because exports of agricultural products are lower than normal due to crop failures, substantial dollars are not flowing into the country as usual.
It wasn’t until April that the Argentine central bank announced a suspension of payments for services and freight transport from abroad due to a serious shortage of foreign currency. By the end of the year, transactions worth two billion dollars (about 1.8 billion euros) were suspended, the currency watchdogs announced almost three weeks ago.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
