Argentina inflation hits 142.7% ahead of presidential vote

Argentina's annual inflation hit 142.7 percent Monday, just days before a presidential election in which the dire state of the country's economy will be a deciding factor.

Argentines will go to the polls on Sunday for a nail-biting election showdown between Economy Minister Sergio Massa and political outsider and self-described "anarcho-capitalist" Javier Milei.

Massa has overseen the slide into triple-digit inflation that has many struggling to survive.

The libertarian Milei has vowed to "dynamite" the central bank and dollarize the economy, firing up voters tired of decades of decline in their living standards.

The national statistics agency reported that inflation over the past 12 months had risen 142.7 percent, up from 138 percent in September.

Nevertheless, monthly inflation slowed to 8.3 percent, down from 12.7 percent in September. Consumer prices have risen 120 percent since January this year.