Alex Trelinski
INFLATION in Spain crept up slightly in February to 3% up by 0.1% on the previous month down to rising electricity bills.
The Consumer Price Index figures were released on the Thursday by the National Statistics Institute.
The new rate means that despite the electricity hike, inflation remains stable compared to a year ago due to the falling cost of oil in international markets.
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A crucial point to remember is that as of January 1, VAT on electricity returned to 21% when the discounted 10% tax concession ended.
“We are seeing how energy prices continue to play a key role in the inflation rate which has not gone up a great deal,” said Maria Jesus Fernandez, senior analyst at Funcas.
Nevertheless, February’s inflation rate is the highest since June 2024 and means that the indicator has risen for five consecutive months.
A confirmation of the rate including food prices will be released on March 14.
Importantly, core inflation – which does not take into account the most volatile products such as electricity or fresh food – fell by three tenths of a percentage point to 2.1%.
It is the lowest core inflation rate since December 2021, before prices rose due to Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine two months later.
