MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday that inflation in the country would have reached 14% without government subsidies to keep down fuel prices.
Mexico’s annual inflation rate accelerated faster than expected to 8.62% in the first half of August, maintaining pressure on the central bank to keep raising interest rates.
Mexico has for months used subsidies to contain fuel prices, which Lopez Obrador had been vital to support consumer spending.
“If we hadn’t allocated a subsidy to fuels, there would have been higher inflation of around 14 percent,” the president told reporters at a regular morning news conference.
(Writing by Dave Graham)
