Argentina's monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.4% in March, according to data released Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).
The figure represents the highest monthly increase since March 2025 and climbed from a 2.9% increase recorded in February.
While the annual inflation rate slowed to 32.6% from 33.1% in February, the monthly acceleration surpassed the 3% increase projected by market analysts, according to reports from CNN Chile and La Tercerta.
Cumulative inflation for the first quarter of 2026 reached 9.4%.
Drivers of price increases
Price hikes were driven largely by regulated services, which rose 5.1% due to adjustments in public transport, education, and utilities.
CNN Chile reported that education costs jumped 12.1% following the start of the school year. Transportation rose by 4.1%, while housing costs increased by 3.7% due to fuel price hikes linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
Argentina remains one of the countries with the highest inflation globally and holds the position of second-highest in South America, trailing only Venezuela, according to La Tercera.
President Javier Milei reacted to the data on his X account, calling the figures "bad."
“The data does not please us, as inflation repulses us. However, today there are hard elements that allow us to explain what has happened and especially to expect that in the future inflation returns to its decreasing path,” Milei stated.
He noted that while the current figures are unfavorable, there are "hard elements" explaining the rise and expressed confidence that inflation will eventually return to a downward trend.
Looking ahead, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects an annual inflation rate of 30.4% for 2026. In 2025, Argentina's accumulated inflation stood at 31.5%, its lowest level in eight years.
