Inflation, estimated with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), will close 2016 below 1.3%; a figure that is far from the goal of the Central Bank (3%).
This is the forecast given by the Institute for Research in Economics (ICSI) at the University of Costa Rica on Tuesday.
The Central Bank has reiterated that the set goal is for the long term, so this year could mark a lower level that over time might lead to 3% expected margins.
According to researches, during the year, prices have shown a very low growth, which has been heavily influenced by changes in fuel prices. The latter have increased slightly, while prices of unregulated goods have maintained a tendency to the downside.
The growth forecast for the whole year will remain in the range of 3% to 4%, slightly below the estimate raised by the Central Bank in the review of the macroeconomic program 2016-2017 (4.2%).
On September 28th, the Board of the Central Bank maintained the level of the monetary policy rate at 1.75% annually.