Inflation Soars Above
Government Target
The inflation rate rose
to 15.4% in the last 12
months through August,
the government
statistics agency said
on Tuesday, driven by a
rise in global food and
fuel prices.
The 12-month increase in
the consumer price index
compares to a 8.56% rise
for the same September
to August period a year
earlier.
Prices rose 1.79%
year-on-year in August,
more than twice the
0.70% rise recorded in
August 2007.
"This 15.4% is very
alarming, it's so high,"
said Antonio Mora, a
spokesman at the
national statistics
institute, which
releases monthly
inflation figures.
The price of rice, a
major staple in the
country, rose as the
cost of the grain
reached record levels on
international markets.
Costa Rica only produces
about half the rice it
consumes.
Transport costs also
went up as oil prices
reached historic peaks
in recent months, Mora
said.
The Banco Central de
Costa Rica (BCCR) -
Costa Rican Central Bank
- raised its 2008
inflation goal from 8%
to 14% at the end of
July. |
