The crisis continues to hit Argentina hard. Inflation, which in 2022 had reached a 32-year high of 94.8%, started 2023 auspiciously, with an increase of 6.6% in February, up 13.1% since the beginning of the year, breaking the symbolic threshold 100% per year. in the year.

The February index, published this Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (Indec), confirms that the slowdown observed in the last months of 2022 was a short-lived respite. Expressed in the last 12 months, the price increase is 102.5%, and the government’s projection of 60% for 2023, on which it based its budget.

High inflation for 12 years

The third largest economy in Latin America continues to grapple with chronic double-digit inflation for 12 years, with multiple causes, both internal (recurring budget deficits, large-scale inflation expectations) and external (impact of the war in Ukraine, drought that affects agriculture). food), which hinder a post-Covid economic recovery. Growth for 2022 stood at 5.2%, after 10.3% in 2021. A rebound, two consecutive years of growth, unprecedented since 2010-2011, which came after three years of recession.

On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it reached an agreement with the Argentine government as part of the follow-up to the existing aid program, paving the way for a new disbursement of 5.3 billion dollars. This 30-month program should provide a total aid of $44 billion, refinancing the Argentine debt inherited from a loan contracted in 2018 with the Fund.