Panama Consumer Prices
Rise 0.4% in April
Panama's inflation rate
slowed in April for the
first time this year on
lower costs for
utilities, but the pace
of price increases was
still three times faster
than during the same
month of 2007.
Consumer prices rose 0.4
percent in April from
the previous month,
while 12-month inflation
at the end of the month
was 8.5 percent, the
Comptroller General's
office said.
An increase in food
prices, transport costs
and other household
expenditures was offset
by a 0.9 percent drop in
utility costs like
water, gas and
electricity.
Prices had risen 1.2
percent in March,
pushing annual inflation
up to 8.8 percent that
month. Inflation in
Panama gained steadily
throughout 2007, and
12-month inflation in
April of that year was
clocked at just 2.7
percent.
Panama, which uses the
dollar as national
currency and used to
enjoy lower rates of
inflation than those in
the United States, has
suffered from the rising
price of food and oil.
The cheaper dollar also
has made imports more
costly.
According to Standard &
Poor's analyst, Roberto
Sifon, Panama is
struggling against dual
pressures, internal and
external.
"You have external
pressure from global
high commodity prices,
which Panama is
dependent on,
particularly oil. At the
same time you have high
domestic growth causing
a demand shock," he told
Reuters on Thursday.
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