Overview
- The IIEP/UBA-Conicet report shows an unsubsidized AMBA household needed $266,456 in October 2026 to pay electricity, gas, water and transport after the basket fell 0.7% month to month because of lower seasonal gas use.
- The services basket rose 56% year‑on‑year and has climbed about 860% since December 2023, far outpacing estimated overall inflation for the period.
- Transport is the largest cost and driver of increases, accounting for 49% of the basket and posting the biggest cumulative jump since 2023; October transport spending rose month to month while gas bills fell about 14% due to seasonality.
- State subsidies covered 43% of the basket in October, down sharply from pre‑2024 levels, with transport subsidies cut most in real terms and overall transfers 61% below the level at the start of the current government.
- Wage growth has lagged tariff rises so the basket now uses about 13% of an average registered salary and nearly 70% of the statutory minimum wage, squeezing household budgets and raising the risk of greater financial strain and political pressure on pricing and subsidy policy.