Argentina reports its first single-digit inflation in 6 months as markets swoon and costs hit home

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Government data in Argentina shows that the country’s monthly inflation rate has eased sharply to a single-digit rate in April for the first time in half a year. The figures are a closely watched indicator that bolsters President Javier Milei’s severe austerity program aimed at fixing the country’s troubled economy. The Argentine statistics agency says that prices rose at a rate of 8.8% last month, well below a peak of 25% last December, when Milei became president with a mission to combat Argentina’s dizzying inflation. Although cheered by market watchers, Milei’s cost-cutting campaign has in the short term been squeezing families whose money has plummeted in value while the cost of nearly everything has skyrocketed.