The Education group price index experienced a variation of 2.72% during the month of August, as a result of increases in the fees of private schools corresponding to preschool, primary and secondary education services
SANTO DOMINGO.-The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that the consumer price index (CPI) registered a monthly variation of 0.38% in August 2026, with which result, the year-on-year inflation measured from August 2025 to August 2026 decreased for the second consecutive month to stand at 5.13%, accumulating a reduction of 0.54 percentage points compared to the 5.67% reached in June 2026.
According to the agency, this behavior shows a gradual process of convergence towards the target range of 4.0% ± 1.0%, in a context where expectations remain anchored to the target in the monetary policy horizon.
He specified that core year-on-year inflation fell to 4.76% in August, after registering 4.96% for the months of June and July, remaining within the target range of 4.0% ± 1.0% set by the Central Bank.
The Central Bank noted that, in monthly terms, the core CPI showed a variation of 0.40% compared to July of this year. This indicator, which provides clearer signals for conducting monetary policy, excludes certain items that do not typically reflect liquidity conditions in the economy, such as food with highly volatile prices, fuels, and services with regulated prices like electricity and transportation, as well as alcoholic beverages and tobacco, it explained.
Products with greater variations
Analyzing the monthly evolution of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August 2026, it can be seen that the variation recorded was mainly due to price increases in the groups Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Education, transportation, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, as well as furniture and household items, which together explained 88.38% of the inflation for the month.
The agency indicated that the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group showed a variation of 0.42%, mainly due to price increases in potatoes, fresh chicken, rice, purified water, fresh vegetables, green pigeon peas, soft drinks, and passion fruit. Conversely, price reductions in products such as chili peppers, green plantains, eggs, avocados, cassava, and oranges, among others, mitigated the magnitude of the increase in this category.
Colleges and universities increase fees
The Education group price index rose 2.72% in August, driven by increases in private school tuition fees for preschool, primary, and secondary education. This trend reflects the seasonal pattern associated with the start of the school year and the enrollment period, a time typically marked by price adjustments for these services. Additionally, increases were observed in university education services and other components of educational spending, notably books and school transportation.
Transportation registers increases
Regarding the Transportation sector, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) notes a 0.26% increase, driven by government-mandated price adjustments for regular and premium gasoline, as well as diesel. Increases were also observed in motorcycle and school transportation services. Conversely, reductions were seen in automobile prices, favored by the appreciation of the Dominican peso against the US dollar, and in airfares, due to the seasonal decrease in travel demand following the peak holiday travel period.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Miscellaneous Goods and Services showed a rate of 0.40%, mainly due to price increases in personal care services, particularly hair cutting, washing, and styling. Meanwhile, the Restaurants and Hotels group showed inflation of 0.39%, reflecting price increases in food prepared outside the home, especially the daily special.
The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) indicates that the Furniture and Household Goods group registered an inflation rate of 0.45%, explained by price increases in household cleaning and maintenance products. Similarly, the Health group saw a variation of 0.34%, resulting from price increases in some pharmaceutical products.
Variation in tradable and non-tradable goods
The CPI for tradable goods showed a rate of 0.24% in August 2026, associated with adjustments in regular and premium gasoline, diesel, and some food items. The index for non-tradable goods and services reported an inflation rate of 0.52%.
The most impacted regions
Inflation by geographic region in August compared to July 2016 shows that the Ozama region, which includes the National District and Santo Domingo province, registered a variation of 0.29%; the North or Cibao region, 0.49%; the East region, 0.34%; and the South region, 0.46%. The variation observed in the North region was mainly due to price increases in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Education, and Transportation groups. In contrast, the Ozama region exhibited lower inflation due to a greater impact from reductions in automobile prices and airfares.
Inflation by income quintiles
Finally, the price index results by socioeconomic strata reflected inflation rates of 0.32% in the first quintile, 0.35% in the second quintile, and 0.37% in the third quintile. The fourth and fifth quintiles showed variations of 0.37% and 0.35%, respectively. The rate observed in the first quintile is attributed to a lower impact from the Education and Restaurants and Hotels groups. Regarding the highest income quintiles, the fourth and fifth, it is noteworthy that inflation was not higher due to reductions in car prices and airfares.
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