Retail prices of bread (French type) continued to rise by 5 percent month‑on‑month and were about 300 percent above their year-earlier levels in May 2024 due to elevated production, milling and transport costs. In general, prices of food items continued to increase in May, albeit to a lesser extent than in recent months, amid difficult macroeconomic conditions, exacerbated by the currency devaluation in December 2023. The Argentine peso has depreciated steadily since December 2023, and in May 2024, was about ARS 887/USD 1 compared to ARS 231/USD 1 a year ago. In May, the annual food inflation rate was 290 percent at the national level.