By Hernan Nessi
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's consumer prices likely spiked around 12% in November alone, a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Monday, which will be the first monthly inflation data under the government of new libertarian President Javier Milei.
The South American country, which swore in its new government on Sunday, is battling triple-digit annual inflation already at 143% and climbing fast. Milei has said he will fight "tooth and nail" to bring inflation down.
The Reuters poll of 22 analysts gave a median estimate of the CPI rising 11.9% in November, up from 8.3% in October. The analysts forecast even sharper price rises in the months ahead, with an expected devaluation likely to stoke inflation.
Milei, who gave a bleak maiden speech warning the country to buckle up tough times ahead, suggested that monthly inflation could be between 20% and 40% over the next few months.
"The outgoing government has left us on course for hyperinflation. We are going to do everything possible to avoid such a catastrophe," he said on Sunday, warning that annual inflation could climb as high as 15,000% if not controlled.
The official statistics institute INDEC will publish November inflation data on Wednesday afternoon.
A libertarian economist and political outsider who espoused some radical views during the election campaign, Milei has put together a more mainstream first cabinet, focusing on sharp cuts to public spending to overturn a fiscal deficit.
"There is no alternative to a shock adjustment," Milei said.
Projections among the analysts polled by Reuters ranged from a minimum rise of 9.4% to a maximum of 15% for November.
Latin America's third-largest economy has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, which hammers voters' purchasing power and pushes up poverty, currently at over 40%.
"While higher inflation is expected in the short term, the new government must execute a stabilization plan," said Emilio Prado, an economist at the Libertad y Progreso Foundation. "So that prices begin to decelerate before the end of 2024."