Headline inflation in Mexico declined in the first half of November, falling to an annual rate of 4.56% from 4.76% across October.

Data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Friday also showed that the closely-watched annual core inflation rate declined to 3.58% in early November from 3.80% in October.

The national consumer price index increased 0.37% compared to the second half of October.

Both the annual headline rate and annual core rate came in below the median estimates of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The decline in inflation in the first half of the month came after the headline rate ticked up in October. The last time the headline rate was lower than 4.56% across an entire month was in March.

The publication of the latest inflation data comes eight days after the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) announced a 25-basis-point cut to its key interest rate, which is now set at 10.25%.

At the time, the central bank said that “looking ahead,” the governing board “expects that the inflationary environment will allow further reference rate adjustments.”

Banxico’s board will hold its final monetary policy meeting for 2024 on Dec. 19.

The Bank of Mexico, which targets inflation of 3% with tolerance of one percentage point in either direction, has reduced its benchmark interest rate on four occasions this year.

Inflation for fruit and vegetables rises above 18%

INEGI’s data shows that prices for fruit and vegetables were 18.17% higher in the first half of November than in the same period a year earlier. The rate increased by more than two percentage points compared to the 15.90% reading across October.

Meat was 5.19% more expensive than a year earlier, while prices in the combined agricultural products category (fruit, vegetables and meat) rose 11.33%.

Annual inflation for processed food, beverages and tobacco was 3.65% in the first half of November, while non-food goods were 1.17% more expensive.

Services were 4.85% more expensive than a year earlier, down from a 4.98% annual inflation rate in October, while energy prices, including those for electricity and gasoline, increased 4.18%.

Mexican economy grows 1.6% in Q3 

INEGI published separate data on Friday that showed that the Mexican economy grew 1.6% in annual terms in the third quarter of 2024. That growth rate is slightly higher than the 1.5% preliminary data reading reported by INEGI in late October.

Quarter-over-quarter growth was 1.1%.

INEGI’s data also showed that Mexico’s GDP increased 1.5% annually in the first nine months of the year, a significant slowdown compared to the 3.2% growth rate recorded in 2023.

With reports from El Economista and El Financiero