Spanish
The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reports that the consumer price index (CPI) registered a monthly variation of 0.03% in February 2026, reflecting the normalization in the supply levels of some high-weighted food goods in the family basket, such as fresh chicken and plantains in their different varieties, as well as other agricultural products that were affected by the adverse climatic conditions associated with the intense rains recorded at the end of last year 2025, including those related to storm Melissa.
The BCRD adds that, in this context, the behavior of the CPI in February 2026 was mainly explained by the variation of -0.56% observed in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group.
The monetary entity indicates that the year-on-year inflation measured from February 2025 to February 2026 stood at 4.67%, 31 basis points lower than the 4.98% verified in January, remaining within the target range established in the monetary program of 4.0% ± 1.0% for 34 consecutive months, that is, throughout the two years and ten months elapsed from May 2023 to date.
Regarding monthly core inflation, it reports that it stood at 0.33%, placing the year-on-year at 4.76%, remaining in the same way within the objective established by the Central Bank. This indicator allows extracting clearer signals for the conduct of monetary policy, because it excludes some items that do not normally respond to liquidity conditions in the economy, such as food with great variability in its prices, fuels and services with regulated prices such as the electricity tariff, transportation, in addition to alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Variation by groups
When analyzing the results of the monthly variation of the general CPI corresponding to February 2026, the BCRD highlights the reductions in the groups Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Transportation, which mitigated the increases observed in the groups Restaurants and Hotels, Miscellaneous Goods and Services, Health and Housing.
The BCRD reports that the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group registered a variation rate of -0.56%, as a result of price decreases in green and ripe plantains, fresh chicken, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, among others. In contrast, the price increases recorded in green pigeon peas, cod, common beef, soft drinks and coffee contributed to the variation in the index of this group not being more negative.
The Transportation group experienced a variation of -0.20%, mainly based on price reductions for automobiles. This result was evident despite the increases verified in airfare and vehicle repair services.
Regarding the 0.75% rate reflected in the CPI for the Restaurants and Hotels group, it is due to price increases in prepared meals outside the home, highlighting the dish of the day, the food service with accompaniment, and the chicken service.
The CPI for Miscellaneous Goods and Services registered a variation of 0.40%, as a result of the increase in the prices of personal care services and items. Likewise, the Health group presented a rate of 0.79%, explained by the increase in the prices of pharmaceutical products, while the Housing index showed a growth of 0.29%, associated with the increase in the rental service.
Inflation in tradable and non-tradable goods
The CPI of tradable goods showed a negative rate of 0.11% in February 2026, due to price decreases in some food items, and the falls in car prices also influenced. In relation to the index of non-tradable goods and services, it reported an inflation of 0.16%.
CPI by geographic regions
The inflation by geographical regions in the month of February compared to January 2026 shows that the Ozama region, which includes the National District and Santo Domingo province, reached a variation of 0.07%, the North or Cibao region of -0.03%, the East region of 0.16% and the South region of -0.12%. The rates observed in the Ozama and East regions respond to a greater incidence of increases in housing rental services, while the negative variations in the North and South regions were due to a greater impact of the reductions reflected in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group. Inflation by quintiles The governing body concludes that the results of the price indices by socioeconomic strata showed an inflation rate of 0.02% for quintile 1, 0.03% for quintile 2, and 0.05% for quintile 3. Quintiles 4 and 5 showed variations of 0.01% and 0.12%, respectively. The most pronounced rate verified in quintile 5 is derived from the combined effect of a lower contribution from the falls experienced in food and a greater contribution from the increases in airfare and prepared food services outside the home. It should be noted that in quintile 4, in addition to the influence of food goods, the reduction observed in automobiles also had an impact.
