By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The inflation rate in Argentina was 4.2% during May, continuing the downward trend seen in the first five months of 2024, the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) reported on Thursday. This marks a significant reduction from April’s 8.8% and is the lowest monthly inflation rate recorded in the country since January 2022.
This reduction is attributed to President Javier Milei’s “shock therapy” economic measures aimed at stabilizing Argentina’s economy after years of socialist governance. When Milei took office in December 2023, Argentina faced a hyperinflation spiral with an inflation rate of 25.5%. Since then, the inflation rate has steadily declined, reaching its lowest point in over two years in May.
The positive results announced by INDEC were well received in international markets. Stocks of Argentine companies reportedly surged up to 10% on Wall Street, and Argentine Sovereign Bonds rose more than 4%. Sovereign Risk, which measures the perceived danger of a country’s public debt, fell nearly 60 points to 1,424. “With the May data, the ongoing disinflation process deepened. The 3-month moving average of the National CPI variation was at its lowest level since July 2023, and was almost 6 points lower than the 6-month moving average,” Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Thursday.
Caputo described May’s 4.2% inflation rate as an “achievement” for all Argentines in another post on social media. “We are getting closer to building the country we want. Let’s recover hope and pride in being Argentines,” he stated.
The inflation rate results came a day after the Argentine Senate voted to approve Milei’s omnibus bill package, known as the “Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines,” which seeks to implement sweeping reforms. The project includes many of Milei’s proposed changes and would codify the executive order signed by Milei in December that undid over 350 socialist policies.
The bill passed with the tiebreaking vote of Argentine Vice President Victoria Villarruel. Senators must now debate and vote on the law’s contents on an article-by-article basis.
Meanwhile, far-left protesters violently rioted near the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires, causing over $300,000 in damages. Protesters burned a vehicle belonging to a local television channel and caused extensive damage.
President Javier Milei is currently attending the G7 Summit in southern Italy and is expected to meet with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva before heading to Bürgenstock, Switzerland, for the Ukraine Peace Summit.