The agency indicated that April's inflation was mainly due to adjustments in the prices of regular and premium gasoline, as well as diesel
SANTO DOMINGO – The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered a variation of 0.49% in April 2026. With this result, the year-on-year inflation rate measured from April 2025 to April 2026 stood at 5.11%, slightly above the upper limit of the target range of 5.0%, with the objective being 4.0% ± 1.0%.
The agency indicated that April's inflation was primarily driven by adjustments in the prices of regular and premium, as well as diesel, amid rising oil prices in international markets linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is worth noting that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for that month was not higher due to a 0.07% decrease in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group, in addition to the appreciation of the Dominican peso against the US dollar, which led to price reductions in items such as automobiles, airfare, and some products within the Communications group, among others.
He stated that, specifically regarding food, price reductions were observed in products with a high weighting in the basic food basket, such as fresh chicken and plantains of all varieties, which had experienced significant price increases in previous months due to the weather events that affected the country. Conversely, other food items saw price increases, including coffee, purified water, soft drinks, avocados, chili peppers, cod, oranges, cassava, limes, and tomatoes.
The Central Bank highlighted that core monthly inflation rose by 0.43%, contributing to the year-on-year rate of 4.87%, which remained within the target range of 4.0% ± 1.0% set by the Central Bank. This indicator provides clearer signals for monetary policy decisions because it excludes certain items that are not typically affected by 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.
Variation by groups
Analyzing the monthly variation in the overall CPI for April 2026, it is observed that the groups with the greatest impact on the result were transportation, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, recreation and culture, housing, and health. In contrast, the food and non-alcoholic beverages, communications, and clothing groups registered negative variations, thus contributing to mitigating inflation in that month.
He noted that the transportation sector saw a 1.78% increase, making it the largest contributor to April's inflation, accounting for 61.94% of the total. This result is primarily attributed to government-mandated price adjustments for regular and premium, as well as diesel. Increases were also observed in intercity bus fares for private companies and in motorcycle taxi services, while seasonal reductions in airfares and car and motorcycle prices partially mitigated the overall increase in this sector.
Likewise, the Central Bank stated that the communications CPI showed a variation rate of -0.11% due to price decreases in cell phone equipment and combined telecommunications services, specifically those related to online data transmission (streaming).
The report indicated that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for miscellaneous goods and services showed a variation of 0.67%, as a result of increased prices for personal care services. Regarding the 0.49% inflation rate observed in the Restaurants and Hotels group, this is due to price increases in prepared food services outside the home, particularly the daily special, grocery delivery with side dishes, and chicken. Meanwhile, the variation rate for the Recreation and Culture group was 1.05% due to price increases in tour packages, and the Housing category showed a rate of 0.18%, primarily driven by the increase in rental services.
Tradable and non-tradable goods
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for tradable goods showed a rate of 0.88% in April 2026, driven by price increases in regular and premium and diesel, as well as rises in tour packages and some food items. The index for non-tradable goods and services reported an inflation rate of 0.11%, according to the agency.
He specified that inflation by geographic region in April, compared to March 2016, shows that the Ozama region, which includes the National District and Santo Domingo province, reached a variation of 0.47%, the North or Cibao region 0.54%, the East region 0.46%, and the South region 0.45%. The rate observed in the North region reflects a greater impact of price increases in the Transportation and Housing groups.
The Central Bank explained that the results of the price indices by socioeconomic strata showed inflation rates of 0.36% for the first quintile, 0.40% for the second quintile, and 0.47% for the third quintile. The fourth and fifth quintiles showed variations of 0.52% and 0.65%, respectively. The more pronounced rate observed in the fifth quintile is attributed to the combination of the smaller impact of decreases in the food category and a greater contribution from increases recorded in the transportation group.
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