Monthly inflation for Buenos Aires was 11.9% in November, statistics published by the city government’s statistics bureau showed on Thursday. It represents a steep rise compared with October’s figure of 9.4%.

The new data show that inter-annual inflation in the capital was 160.6%, up from 146% in October. Prices have risen by 146.4% in 2023 to date.

Price increases in November were mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic drinks, housing, restaurant prices, and healthcare, the Buenos Aires City government’s General Directorate of Statistics and Census (DGESYC) wrote in its monthly report.

Food and non-alcoholic drinks, which heavily influence the index, rose by 14.2% in November. As in other months, the prices that increased the most were those of bread, meats and their derivates and milk and dairy products.

The “Housing, utility bills and fuels” category averaged a 10% monthly increase, driven by rental prices and shared housing expenses, although the report revealed that electricity bills were lower. 

Hikes in restaurant food prices contributed the most to hospitality sector increases, with a 12.4% jump. Meanwhile, the cost of prepaid medicine bills and vehicles drove the healthcare and transportation sectors to increase by 13% and 10.7% respectively.

The Buenos Aires City inflation is the first official figure published after the presidential elections. Next week, the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC, its Spanish acronym) will publish the national price increase index for November — the first figure in Javier Milei’s administration. Analysts calculate it will range from 11.5% to 13.4%. 

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