Economy

CPI may hit new highs this month

Prices increased 1.1 percent in November, and will probably go up more than 6 percent for the year.

The Contraloría General reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November rose 6.5 percent compared to the year before. The index rates prices in the country’s urban centers.

Among the goods and services that pushed the index upward were the costs of transportation (up 11.6 percent), food (10.4 percent), housing (5 percent) and health (3.7 percent). The index increased 1.1 percent from October, the highest increase of the year. Food and clothing price increases were the main reason for the hike. The only sector which showed a decline in November, as compared to the previous month, was recreation, entertainment and cultural services, which decreased 0.1 percent. Government officials said that price increases for vegetables, particularly onions and lettuce, gasoline, and vitamins and antacids were specific causes of the increase in the CPI. From January to November, the CPI increased 5.9 percent, and is expected to exceed 6 percent for the first time since the government began monitoring prices.

Rising prices have been of concern to the government for several months. This week, an increase in the minimum wage was approved to help Panama’s poorest workers.

That increase has prompted criticism from both sides, with employers saying they will have to lay off workers and unions claiming that the increase is not nearly enough to offset rising prices.