Bogotá, Jul 3 (EFE) .- Colombia had an inflation of -0.05% in June, after the lifting of the blockades that occurred in the country in May as part of the national strike against the Government, reported this Saturday the Administrative Department National Statistics (Dane).
“In June 2021 the monthly variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was negative, of -0.05%, which is less important in absolute value than the negative inflation that we saw in June 2020 of -0.38% “, expressed the director of the Dane, Juan Daniel Oviedo, in a press conference.
The official said that June’s deflation is mainly explained by “a correction in the supply of food to the interior of the home, but with pressures on proteins that continue to be inflationary and that are transmitted to restaurants and hotels that compensate, in this case, the negative variation that we are seeing of food inside the home “.
According to DANE, the behavior of the CPI is mainly explained by the drop in prices of the Food and non-alcoholic beverages division (-1.02%), specifically of the subclasses of onion (-8.49%), tomato ( -27.75%) and potatoes (-27.58%).
Meanwhile, the largest positive monthly variations were registered by the Restaurants and hotels divisions (0.68%) and Furniture (0.35%).
Meanwhile, Colombia’s CPI was 3.13% in the first half of 2021, an increase of 2.01 percentage points over the same period last year when it stood at 1.12%.
“The year-to-date behavior of the total CPI in June 2021 was mainly explained by the year-to-date variation of the Food and non-alcoholic beverages and Accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels divisions,” Dane explained in a statement.
The Banco de la República (issuer) estimates that the CPI will be at 2.33% at the end of this year.
(c) EFE Agency
