Mexico’s inflation rate hit 6.24 percent in October, its highest level since December 2017, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) said Monday, Nov. 8.

The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) hike was above market forecasts, which had predicted an annual increase of 6.16 percent, according to a group of economic analysts consulted by Bloomberg.

September’s inflation rate was 6 percent.

The Inegi accredited the unexpected rise in inflation to dramatic increases in energy and food costs.

Mexico’s inflation rate has increased for the last eight consecutive months, spiraling above the Central Bank of Mexico’s (Banxico) target range of 3 percent, with a one percentage point variable.

The surge in goods prices was particularly significant, 6.58 percent at an annual rate, reaching its highest variation since the Inegi began keeping tabs on inflation in August 2011.

And products with high price volatility such as agricultural products or fuels increased at a 9.47 percent rate.

Energy costs showed the highest increases, at 9.82 percent compared to the same period last year.

While leftist Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) frequently touts the stability of the country’s economy, most outside analysts have said that it is facing an uncertain future.

In 2020, the Mexican economy contracted by 8.3 percent, due mostly to the covid-19 pandemic, but also to government mismanagement and a refusal to support businesses

And while the economy is expected to rebound by 6 percent this year, it is still severely lagging in growth compared to other countries in the region.

Also, AMLO’s headstrong commitment to prioritize state-run carbon-based fuel energy suppliers over private-sector clean energy sources and to place state-instituted megaprojects into the hands of the military with no accountability have led investors and analysts alike to remain skeptical of a real economic recovery any time soon.

The Big Three international credit agencies (Moody’s Analytics, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings) have all downgraded their ratings of Mexico over the last three years, and, for the most part, investors have stayed away in droves due to uncertainty regarding government contract compliancy.

In the third quarter of this year, the economy contracted 0.2 percentage points.