MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican consumer prices rose 7.45% in the year through March, double the central bank’s target and above expectations, data from the INEGI national statistics agency showed on Thursday.
The median forecast of analysts surveyed by Reuters was for inflation to rise to 7.36% in March, versus 7.28% in February.
The Bank of Mexico has a permanent inflation target of 3%, with a one percentage point tolerance range above and below that.
Core inflation, which strips out some volatile food and energy items, increased 6.78% in the year through March, a level not hit since 2001, the INEGI data showed.
Consumer prices rose 0.99% in March, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures.
The core index rose 0.72% during the month.
(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; editing by Jason Neely)
