Mexico’s inflation rises nearly 6% partly due to peso’s decline
Mexico City — Mexico’s inflation rate rose to 5.8% in April, the highest since 2009, officials said on Tuesday. A rise in agricultural products accounts for much of the increase, as does the decline of the Mexican peso against the dollar, according to national statistics institute INEGI. April marked the fourth consecutive month in which the inflation rate came in above the central bank’s target ceiling of 4% in Latin America’s second largest economy after Brazil. The economy in Mexico is facing instability unleashed by the arrival of US President Donald Trump, whose vows to build a border wall and overhaul Mexico’s privileged trade relationship with the US are causing jitters. The peso plunged when Trump took office in January, hitting record lows as investors dumped Mexican assets. This caused consumer prices to rise as imported goods became more expensive. Adding to inflationary pressure, President Enrique Peña Nieto’s government raised gasoline prices by more than 20% as part of...
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