Buenos Aires, March 14 (Reuters) - Argentina's monthly inflation rate accelerated to 2.4% in February, in line with analyst estimates, according to data released by the INDEC statistics agency on Friday.
This uptick represents a rise from the 2.2% rate recorded in January, driven by a nearly 4% increase in housing and public services expenses.
Over the 12 months through February, inflation reached 66.9%, showing a slight slowdown from the previous month's 84.5% figure but slightly exceeding analysts' expectations polled by Reuters.
While under the government of libertarian President Javier Milei, aimed at curbing soaring prices, inflation has shown improvement. In recent months, however, inflation has plateaued, consistently hovering between 2% and 3%.
"We expect March inflation to be close to 2%, although early high-frequency data for the first week of the month suggests higher inflation compared to February," noted an analyst at investment funds Max Capital.
Under Milei's leadership, inflation has decreased from triple-digit levels, facilitated by the administration's stringent and polarizing austerity measures. The administration is now contemplating relaxing capital controls.
Argentina's annual inflation, which had surged close to 300% in early 2021, has since dropped to double digits. Analysts surveyed by the central bank project a further slowdown in inflation to 23.3%.