Mexico's annual inflation accelerated to 3.45pc in September, the highest level since May, driven by upward pressure in the non-core index led by rising fruit and vegetable prices.
The consumer price index (CPI) accelerated from an annual 3.26pc in August, according to statistics agency Inegi. While moving further above the central bank's 3pc inflation target, CPI has kept within the central bank's 2pc-4pc inflation tolerance range since May.
September inflation came slightly below analyst forecasts, with Mexican banks Banorte and Banamex projecting 3.46pc and 3.5pc, respectively. Responding to the result, both banks revised their full-year 2026 estimates for the headline to 3.9pc from 4.0pc
Core inflation eased further to 3.75pc in September from 3.88pc a month earlier. Within that, consumer goods slowed to 3.21pc from 3.41pc in August, and services inflation fell to 4.27pc from 4.33pc the previous month.
September's faster headline rate was mainly fueled by the more volatile non-core index of prices, which accelerated to an annual 2.45pc from 1.13pc in August, largely because fresh fruit and vegetable prices expanded by an annual 8.78pc in September from 4.1pc in August.
Energy inflation drove the non-core as well, accelerating sharply to 1.48pc from 0.81pc, despite government caps on LPG, regular gasoline and diesel retail prices to mitigate volatility stemming from the ongoing US conflict with Iran. Premium gasoline prices, which are not capped, maintained 11pc annual inflation in September.
Price growth also accelerated for transportation, climbing to 3.51pc from 3.43pc in August, and for housing and utilities at 3.33pc in September from 3.06pc the previous month. In contrast, inflation for restaurants and hotels slowed to 6.19pc from 6.27pc in August.
From the previous month, consumer prices rose 0.42pc, accelerating from a 0.20pc increase in August, Inegi reported.
