Anthony Piovesan
Inflation rose to 5.8% across Spain in January, much above the market forecast.
The preliminary figure was up from 5.7% in December 2022, a 13-month low, as fuel price hikes accelerated in January.
Meanwhile, clothing, footwear and electricity prices decreased from a year ago.
The market estimate was at 4.9% year-on-year in January’s consumer prices.
On a monthly basis, Spain’s consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.3% in January, following a 0.2% rise last December.
A further cooling in energy inflation, on the other hand, put some downward pressure on the 5.8% figure.
The removal of the state subsidy on fuel retail prices will also have exerted some downward pressure.
On the other hand, core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose further from 7% last month to 7.5% in January.
Core inflation continues to rise worryingly strongly, showing that underlying price pressures in the economy are still very high.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s inflation rate was 5.7% in December
- Gap between wage rises and inflation hit nearly 6% in Spain in 2022
- Spain’s inflation rate tumbles to one-year low thanks to lower fuel prices
