MEXICO CITY, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Mexico registered an annual inflation rate of 3.15 percent in December, driven lower by a drop in the price of some produce in the last month of the year, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported Thursday.

The National Consumer Price Index (INPC) increased 0.38 percent in December compared to the previous month, its lowest level for the month in eight years, according to Inegi records.

"In the same period of 2019, the figures were 0.56 percent per month and 2.83 percent annually," the autonomous statistics agency said in a statement.

The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has an inflation target of 3 percent, with one percentage point margin of flexibility above or below that figure.

Core inflation, used to determine Banxico's monetary policy decisions, registered 3.8 percent annually and 0.55 percent in December, according to Inegi.

The price of onion fell 25.35 percent in the 12th month compared to the previous month, followed by tomato (13.10 percent) and papaya (15.83 percent), all among items that weigh heavily on the INPC.

Banxico estimates inflation could accelerate to 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2021, but fall to 3.3 percent by the end of the year, according to the quarterly projections issued on Nov. 25, 2020. Enditem

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