Mexico inflation hits 5.8 per cent, highest rate since 2009

Mexico's inflation rate rose in April to 5.8 per cent, the highest since 2009, officials said today.
A rise in agricultural products accounts for much of the increase, as does the decline of the peso against the US dollar in Mexico, according to national statistics institute INEGI.
April marked the fourth consecutive month in which the inflation rate came in above the central bank's target ceiling of four percent in Mexico, Latin America's second largest economy after Brazil.
The economy here is facing instability unleashed by the arrival of US President Donald Trump, whose vows to build a border wall and overhaul Mexico's privileged trade relationship with the US are causing jitters.

The peso plunged when Trump took office in January, hitting record lows as investors dumped Mexican assets. That in turn caused consumer prices to rise as imported goods became more expensive.
Adding to inflationary pressure, President Enrique Pena Nieto's government raised gasoline prices by more than 20 per cent as part of a sweeping energy reform.