Possible increases in the dollar exchange rate and international oil prices could have an impact on the Costa Rican inflation in 2017, due to a rise in the price of imported products and fuels.
The results for this year contrast with those of 2016, when inflation closed at 0.77%, a figure well below the target range (3%) established in the monetary policy of the Central Bank.
This low level of increase of the economy was mainly explained by the behavior in the oil prices. In 2016, the price per WTI barrel, the US benchmark, remained below $52 a barrel, while a barrel of Brent did not exceed $53.5 in the same period of analysis.
According to an analysis by the stock market firm Acobo, when reviewing the price increase in by income group, they found different increases, because the consumer baskets are different.
Prices for low-income people (¢82,382 – ¢330,304) rose 0.11%, while for people with an average income (¢439.396 – ¢1,253,424) it grew 0.52% and for high-income people (¢1,799,488 – ¢ 3,701,865), the increase was 1.28%.
These data show that the increase in prices was lower for people with lower incomes, which allows them to maintain their purchasing power,”
reported the firm.
For 2017, inflation is expected to see the end of the year above the level observed in 2016, being within the target range of the Central Bank, which is maintained around 3%.