Argentina's consumer prices rose 1.9 percent in June, the national statistics agency INDEC reported, the slowest monthly pace since last August and the first time this year that monthly inflation has dropped below 2 percent. It was the third straight month of deceleration, and a political boost for President Javier Milei, whose austerity program has staked its credibility on taming one of the world's highest inflation rates.
The detail worth noticing is the divergence between the two headline numbers. Even as the monthly figure fell, the 12-month rate ticked up to 33.5 percent from 33.2 percent — a reminder that annual inflation reflects a full year of past increases and can still be rising while the current pace cools. Core inflation, which strips out seasonal and regulated prices, ran at 1.6 percent, below the headline monthly figure and a sign the underlying trend is softer still. First-half inflation has accumulated to roughly 16.8 percent.