Alex Trelinski
HIKES in petrol prices caused Spain’s inflation rate in September to inch up by 0.2% to 2.9%.
Provisional figures released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute put the Consumer Price Index at its highest level since February.
Electricity prices rose slightly but forecourt fuel price increases were the main factor for last months’ rise.
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Core inflation which excludes volatile energy and fresh food prices, fell by 0.1% in September to annual rate of 2.3%- the same figure as in July.
It’s believed that the overall inflation rate will start falling for the rest of the year.
The last time inflation was below the European Central Bank’s target of 2% was in October 2024, when it stood at 1.8%.
Economist, Javier Santacruz, told the El Pais newspaper: “In addition to electricity and fuel, there is a September seasonal effect when spending on education, leisure and transport rises.”
“It has been more intense this year, and fresh food prices have not yet eased,” he added.
Raymond Torres, from the economic think-tank Funcas, told El Pais that Spanish inflation will continue to be above the European average, and suggested it will close the year at 2.5%.
“There are two major challenges to be faced: the persistent rise in prices of services, which have been above 3% for months due to the strong pull of tourist and non-tourist services in Spain,” he commented.
“The second factor is the cost of unprocessed food, with year-on-year rates of more than 5% throughout the year except January,” stated Torres.
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