By Susana Condado
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of metropolitan Lima rose by 1.01% during March, being higher than expected by the market consensus (0.76%), according to a Bloomberg survey. This increase in prices during the last month would be concentrated mainly in the education and food and non-alcoholic beverage sectors, whose incidence in the inflationary increase is 76.7%.
The cost of education
The increase in prices registered in the education sector responds to a stationary phenomenon and is evident in the higher prices of secondary education (5.9%), specifically in the non-state education pension (6.4%) and spending on registration process (2.7%).
However, preschool and primary education also showed an upward trend in their prices, and showed a variation of 5.7%. Within the non-state education pension: primary (6.3%) and initial (6.1%); spending on non-state tuition: initial (3.1%) and primary (2.9%); and tertiary education (3.4%).
Regarding non-state university tuition for undergraduate education, prices rose by up to 4.2%; while pensions—also for undergraduates—rose by 3.8%. On the other hand, spending on tuition at non-state higher institutes reached 2.7% more and their pensions had a variation of 2.9%.
Chicken took flight
Meanwhile, in the food and non-alcoholic beverage sector, an increase of 1.72% was recorded. The highest prices were for fish and seafood (4.6%); and species such as horse mackerel (19.2%), parakeet (18.5%), hake (9.9%) and mackerel (8.6%) stand out, increases associated with demand due to the celebration of Holy Week.
Other products such as chicken (6.07%) and chicken eggs (12.1%), as well as vegetables, legumes and tubers (3.8%), contributed to the accumulated variation of 1.59% in the first quarter of the year in the CPI of metropolitan Lima.
However, April begins with a drop in food prices in different retail markets. A team from La República recorded that a kilo of chicken can reach up to S/10 and a kilo of chicken eggs up to S/9.
In Trujillo, prices are more expensive
According to the INEI report, in March, four were the cities with the highest inflation: Trujillo (1.28%), Huaraz (1.23%), Chimbote (1.22%) and Cerro de Pasco (1.21 %).
The national average of the CPI was 0.94%, while in the last 12 months it was 2.67%.
Source: Larepublica
Alia is a professional author and journalist, working at 247 news agency. She writes on various topics from economy news to general interest pieces, providing readers with relevant and informative content. With years of experience, she brings a unique perspective and in-depth analysis to her work.
