Mexico issues measures to mitigate high costs of train cargo as inflation soars

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico’s government on Wednesday said it had issued so-called “emergency directives” for the transportation via train of products in a staple basket of goods with the aim of mitigating high cargo costs inflation is over a 20-year high.

The directives establish a “regulatory mechanism that guarantees efficient and balanced rates in the costs of transporting goods through the railways,” according to the government’s official gazette.

The country’s inflation was at 8.15% in the year through July, up from 7.99% in June, with closely watched core inflation at 0.62% in the month of July.

The measure follows several measures by the government meant to tame inflation, including a 430 billion peso subsidy on gas, 73 billion pesos for domestic energy aid and a 69 billion peso “food security” program.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Sandra Maler and Brendan O’Boyle)