LatinNews Daily - 23 April 2026

*Panama’s national statistics institute (Inec) has released new figures showing monthly inflation in March was 0.9%, but did not provide the annual figure. This is up from a monthly rate of 0.1% in February, when the year-on-year rate was -0.1%. Monthly inflation was driven by transport (+3.5%), due to the rise in fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment (+14.5%), as a result of the international rise in diesel and petrol prices. Two of the 13 categories measured posted monthly deflation – clothing and footwear, and information and communication which each posted -0.1% deflation. Last year closed with -0.2% annual deflation.