Overview
- INDEC reported on Thursday that the Canasta Básica Total rose 3.5% in October and the Canasta Básica Alimentaria rose 3.1%, setting the poverty threshold for a four‑person family at $1,690,000 and the indigence threshold at $761,261.
- Both baskets climbed above October's general inflation of 2.2% and above the 2.0% rise in the 'Food and non‑alcoholic beverages' category, reflecting larger monthly increases in items used to define subsistence.
- The largest monthly price jump within the baskets was for 'Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels' at 4.2%, a rise that local measures show hits renters and city households especially hard.
- City and provincial counts underscore regional pressure: Buenos Aires City data put a 'class‑middle' household cost far above the national average when rent is included, and Mendoza's DEIE reported higher local thresholds that mirror the national upward trend.
- Analysts warn the official baskets use old household‑spending weights from 2004/05 so updating consumption surveys would likely change how much services and housing factor into poverty measures and could alter the reported size and profile of need.