"At the national level, driven mainly by the surge in energy and food prices and the acceleration of inflation in main trading partners, consumer prices rose significantly in the first four months of the year, with an average year-on-year increase of 4.5 percent. This trend is expected to continue in the near term, with the Bank projecting the inflation to reach 5.3 percent for the year as a whole before decelerating to 2 percent in 2023." said a BAM statement released after its second 2022 quarterly Board meeting.

"Its underlying component would reach 5.2 percent in 2022 and then return to 2.5 percent in the following year," the same source added.