Inflation continued its upward trend in April, reaching 5.68% YoY, driven by food and regulated items. We expect inflation to continue increasing to 6.5% by year-end, due to climate-related shocks, the minimum wage increase, strong domestic demand, and other risks.

The labor market remains solid with national unemployment at historic lows of 8.8% and employment growth of 2.7%. However, a duality persists in the 13 main cities, where unemployment rose to 9.4% and employment growth slowed to 0.8% annually.