The Consumer Price Index Jumped Dramatically in March

We don’t have to tell you, the shopper, that most things cost more these days.  The Consumer Price Index jumped dramatically in March compared to the same month last year, up 1.7%.  Health, food, transportation and restaurants showed increases.  Transportation prices were recorded up 5.5%; miscellaneous goods and services 3.1%; restaurants and hotels 2.8%; housing, water, electricity and gas 2.3% and health 1.3%, food and non-alcoholic beverages 0.9%.  Education costs were up 0.7% and alcoholic beverages and tobacco were higher by 0.5%.

The groups that registered decreases were: Clothing and footwear by 2.0%; Recreation and culture with 0.8%; Furniture, household items and for ordinary home maintenance at 0.4%; and Communications at just 0.3%.  Only in March compared to February of this year the urban CPI was 0.3%.  Increases in transportation groups of 1.9% were recorded in this period; miscellaneous goods and services 0.4%; alcoholic beverages and tobacco 0.3%; housing, water, electricity and gas; furniture, household items and for ordinary home maintenance; and restaurants and hotels, all 0.1%.

The transportation group reflected an increase in three of its seven classes. The greatest variations occurred in the classes: passenger transportation by air, which registered a variation of 2.8%, due to the increase in the price of plane tickets; and an increase was also reported in the segment of fuels and lubricants for personal transportation equipment by 4.7%, due to the increase in the price of automobile fuel.  The increase reflected in the miscellaneous goods and services group was due to growth in 4 of its 10 classes. The greatest variation occurred in the health-related insurance segment, which rose by 6.4%.  While the increase registered in the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group was due to the increase in one of its four classes. The main variation was in the distilled beverages class, which rose by 6.9%.  The CPI in the districts of Panama and San Miguelito, from March 2024-23, reflected an interannual variation of 2.2%. The CPI for the rest of the urban population, for March 2024-23, registered an interannual variation of 1.6%.