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Argentina says 2018 inflation hits 47.6 percent

Published  January 15, 2019 2:52pm EST
Business
FOX 5 New York

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentina says that consumer prices rose 47.6 percent in 2018, the highest rate since 1991.

The annual inflation rate published by the official statistics agency Tuesday is also one of the world's highest.

President Mauricio Macri has struggled to tame that inflation and Argentina's peso currency also lost about half of its value last year.

The economic turmoil led the government last year to seek a $56 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Consumer prices rose 2.6 percent in December over the previous month.

Top price increases for December were in communication, which rose 7.7 percent and health, up 5.2 percent. Increases in utility rates that are part of a series of austerity measures also fueled inflation.