A. M. 
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in El Salvador registered a moderate monthly variation in january 2026, reflecting stable prices for goods and services purchased by households.
According to data from the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (BCR), the CPI stood at 131.00 points, with a monthly variation of 0.09%. Year-on-year inflation was 0.65%, while the accumulated variation for the first month of the year also reached 0.09%.
Divisions that drive monthly inflation
The 0.09% increase in january was mainly due to increases in some key divisions.
The largest positive impact came from:
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages, with a monthly variation of 0.26% and an impact of 0.08 percentage points, were the main contributor to the overall result.
• Restaurants and hotels, which rose 0.47%, with an impact of 0.05 points.
• Accommodation, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, with an increase of 0.27% and an impact of 0.04 points.
• Miscellaneous goods and services, with 0.46% and an impact of 0.03 points.
• Health, which increased 0.15% (0.01 percentage points impact).
• Recreation and culture, also with 0.15% (0.01 points).
Within these categories, the increase in electricity, gas, and other fuels (0.71%) and the increase in contract food services (0.47%), which are part of restaurants and hotels, stood out.
Division that contained inflation
The main factor that moderated the monthly result was the transportation division, which registered a decrease of -1.31%, with a negative impact of -0.13 percentage points.
Within this division, decreases were observed in:
• Transportation services (-3.75%).
• Vehicle acquisition (-0.33%).
• Operation of personal transportation equipment (-0.21%).
Without this reduction in transportation, monthly inflation would have been higher.
A slight decrease was also reported in Furniture and household goods (-0.04%), although with virtually no impact.
Annual inflation: 0.65%
Compared to january 2025, year-on-year inflation was 0.65%.
Among the products that contributed most to the upward trend in annual inflation were:
• Lunch (0.19%).
• Tortilla (0.13%).
• Housing rental (0.09%).
• Construction worker (0.09%).
• Breakfast (0.08%).
In contrast, the main factors contributing to the downward trend were:
• Potatoes (-0.28%).
• New cars (-0.14%).
• Air travel (-0.10%).
• New pickup trucks (-0.08%).
• Onions (-0.04%).
These combined trends explain the moderate behavior of annual inflation.
January 2026 outlook
In january 2026, the CPI showed slight and controlled growth, with pressure mainly from food, food services, and some housing-related expenses, while transportation acted as the main buffer against the overall increase.
The result confirms a start to the year with low inflation, where increases in essential goods and services were partially offset by reductions in transportation and some specific products, keeping the monthly variation at 0.09% and the annual variation at 0.65%.
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