Argentina's monthly inflation ticks up as Milei faces backlash over an outdated index

Diego Armando Custodio stands inside a coal sales
market where he works in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.
 (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Inflation in crisis-prone Argentina accelerated more than expected and for a fifth straight month in January, the country’s statistics agency said Tuesday, a closely watched report whose outdated methodology in recent days stoked political turmoil and created a headache for libertarian President Javier Milei.

Consumer prices rose 2.9% last month compared with December, said the statistics agency known by its Spanish acronym INDEC, largely owing to increases in the prices of food, restaurants, hotels and utility bills.

Economists say that the formula that INDEC used to calculate the inflation rate still underestimates real price rises in a country reeling from Milei's harsh austerity program that his close ideological ally, U.S. President Donald Trump has backed with $20 billion and championed as a model for downsizing federal bureaucracy.

By Isabel Debre
Full story at Yahoo News