Mexico’s annual inflation retreats in early November, bolstering expectations for steady borrowing costs ahead, even as it remained above the central bank’s tolerance ceiling for a fifth month running.
Mexican inflation for the 12 months through the first half of November was 4.16 percent, data from the national statistics institute showed on Monday, below the 4.20 percent expected in a Reuters poll.
Annual inflation in Mexico accelerated to a nine-month high of 4.3 percent in October, but Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens has said the pace of consumer price gains will fall below the bank’s 4 percent ceiling and approach its 3 percent target by the middle of next year.
The bank cut interest rates to a record low of 3 percent in June to spur sluggish growth in Latin America’s No. 2 economy. Mexico is expected to wait until the United States lifts borrowing costs before it raises its own interest rates.
Consumer prices rose 0.74 percent in the first half of November, just above an expected 0.73 percent, pushed up by higher electricity costs as the government cut summer subsidies and a jump in tomato and beef prices.
Core consumer prices, which exclude some volatile food and energy prices, reached 0.13 percent, just below the 0.15 percent rise seen by analysts and pointing to little pressure on prices from domestic demand amid slow growth.
A separate report on Monday showed Mexico’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 4.71 percent in October, its lowest since November 2013. The unseasonally adjusted rate dipped to 4.78 percent in the same period. (Reporting By Alexandra Alper Editing by W Simon)
