Argentina's annual inflation rate shot up to 124%, adding to the South American country's economic woes and leaving Argentines struggling in their day-to-day lives. - REUTERS
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00:00 Argentina's annual inflation rate shot up to 124 percent in August.
00:07 That's a record high in more than three decades and has left a lot of Argentines struggling
00:12 to make ends meet.
00:14 Laura Seles and her husband now have to juggle the math every time they want to buy something.
00:20 "It's hard.
00:22 Whatever one thing costs today, tomorrow costs a little more.
00:26 We're always racing against the clock, searching and searching.
00:29 You buy whatever is cheaper in one place and go to the next place and buy something else.
00:34 That's how it is, regrettably."
00:36 It is equally tough for business owners like butcher Marcelo Capobianco.
00:41 He fears he will need to close down his shop if situation worsens.
00:45 His family is even considering leaving Argentina.
00:49 "The situation we're going through is dramatic because we don't know how we are going to
00:54 pay this month's rent or electricity.
00:56 People are angry and have every right to be since they can't afford to buy a kilo of meat
01:00 and then we'll be affected."
01:02 Argentina is caught in a cycle of economic crisis.
01:06 The peso is depreciating, the central bank has negative reserves and the economy is flagging
01:12 due to drought impacting farming.
01:15 Adding to that, a recent central bank analyst poll forecasts inflation would end the year
01:20 above 169 percent.
01:24 According to economic analyst Damien Depache, it could get even worse amid the uncertainty
01:29 of next month's presidential election.
01:32 "Some estimate that it could accelerate to 180 percent.
01:36 So we are talking about record levels of inflation.
01:39 While the other Latin American countries have single digit inflation, Argentina is already
01:44 in triple digit."
01:46 Economy Minister Sergio Masa, who is in the presidential race, has cut taxes to allay
01:51 the impact of inflation on workers.
01:54 On Wednesday, he said August had been the hardest month, blaming the International Monetary
01:59 Fund for devaluating the currency by 20 percent.
02:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]