According to the INEC, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February rose the most in Cuenca, Santo Domingo and Guayaquil.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose and stood at 2.71% in February 2022 compared to the same month in 2021, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC).

In monthly terms, the CPI increased 0.23% in February, compared to January 2022. The CPI is one of the main indicators to measure the cost of living.

The cities in which consumer prices increased the most in one year are Cuenca, with 3.54%; Santo Domingo, with 3.39%; and Guayaquil, with 2.99%.

In Quito, the CPI rose 2.82% between February 2021 and the same month in 2022.

Transportation accounts for most of the increase

The rise in prices is due to an increase in nine of the 12 groups of products that make up the coffer with which the INEC calculates the CPI.

Transportation heads that list, with a price increase of 1.32%; followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages with 0.54% and prices of furniture and household items at 0.25%.

The transportation division is made up of 23 products, which represent 14.74% of the weight of the CPI basket. Transportation products include high-octane gasoline and air travel.

Conversely, the category that fell the most was clothing and footwear, with an annual incidence on the CPI of -0.02%, in interannual terms.

The cost of the basic family basket, made up of 75 products, was $725.16 in February 2022; the average household income for the month reached $793.33. This means a theoretical surplus for families of $68.17, according to INEC.

The cost of the vital basket was $514.20, which theoretically leaves a surplus in the family budget of $279.12. ‘The vital basket is made up of 73 basic products.

Both baskets are a set of essential goods and services to meet the basic needs of the prototype household which, according to INEC parameters, is made up of four members, of which 1.6 people earn the basic salary, which in 2022 is $425 a month.