According to a consumer price index published by the government of Argentina, the Latin American nation’s monthly inflation rate eased to 1.2 percent in the month of October.

This number contrasts a great deal with private-sector estimates that put Argentine prices up around 2 percent in that month, according to Wall Street Journal.

Elypsis, an economic consulting firm which tracks more than 300,000 prices nationwide, estimates that prices rose 2 percent and were up 39.5 percent on the year.

The chief economist at Elypsis, "The first conclusion is that this is evidence in favor of the idea that the government continues to fudge the data," Luciano Cohan, the chief economist at Elypsis, said.

Argentina's government has, since 2007, been suspected by economists of manipulating official inflation figures for political gain as well as to reduce payments on the country's inflation-indexed debt.

Argentina’s government has rapidly increased public spending in recent years, as the country primarily funds social and infrastructure programs by printing money. Argentina has also been controlling access to foreign currency in an effort to maintain its falling central bank reserves.

Economists said this has fueled the second-highest rate of inflation in the Americas after Venezuela, where inflation tops 60 percent.

Earlier this week, the City of Buenos Aires claimed prices in the capital were up 1.9 percent on the month, which places the annual inflation at 39.9 percent.

Cohan said the nationwide inflation is stable or even declining and is on track to slow to an annual rate of closer to 30 percent, which is due to the fact that because today’s estimated 40 percent annual rate comes largely from prices increases at the end of 2013 and in early 2014, after Argentina devalued its currency.

A currency devaluation in January, detailed in Reuters, fueled inflation as Argentine businesses and merchants raised prices to adjust to the new exchange rate.

Most analysts predict the Argentine economy will shrink somewhere between 1 percent and 3 percent this year.

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