Peru Inflation Slows

Peru’s consumer price index rose 0.13% in August from a month earlier, slowing as a reduction in residential electricity rates stemmed a rise in the price of food, state statistics agency Inei said on Saturday, Reuters reported. The 12-month inflation rate through August slowed to 1.07%, down from 1.62% registered in the 12 months to July, approaching the bottom of the central bank’s 1 to 3% annual target. The recovery is stronger in the banking sector, where the pace of lending could enter double digit territory this year, while the insurance sector has also seen a clear improvement from 2016-17, when growth in premiums was hit hard by the weak economy and a highly controversial pension reform. Despite slower growth in 2014-17, Peru has continued to boast a macroeconomic stability that gives it an aura of being bulletproof to domestic and international shocks. “Macroeconomic factors are still strong in the country and despite political turmoil, Peru remains an attractive place for investors,” says Eli Sanchez, senior financial analyst with insurance-focused rating agency A.M. Best.