Argentina's March inflation will exceed 6%, says economy minister

Argentina's inflation rate in March will surpass 6% to reach the highest monthly growth in consumer prices so far this year, the economy minister said Monday, as the country struggles with an extended period of surging costs for many goods and services.

Argentina's inflation rate in March will surpass 6% to reach the highest monthly growth in consumer prices so far this year, the economy minister said Monday, as the country struggles with an extended period of surging costs for many goods and services. "The (consumer price) index is going to exceed 6%, it will be the highest of the year," Economy Minister Martin Guzman said during an interview with local broadcaster C5N. He added that international market pressures were also weighing on the South American country's rising prices.

Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, behind Brazil and Mexico, and recently finalized a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restructure some $44 billion in debt it could not pay. Still, doubts persist among market analysts about whether or not it can meet its quarterly targets under the agreement. Guzman said that the main part of the first review scheduled for May has not encountered any problems due to the accumulation of reserves, the reduction of the government's budget deficit and a smaller amount of new paper currency printed by the central bank.

A Reuters analysts poll published earlier on Monday showed that the median forecast was for a 5.8% jump in March's consumer price index, above the 5.5% predicted by analysts in a separate survey conducted by the central bank. Annual inflation this year is seen at around 60%, according to the bank.