Prices in Spain rose 5.8% this month, compared to January 2022, according to an official estimate released this Monday which, if confirmed, reveals the first rise in inflation in the country (one tenth) in five months.
The inflation rate (increase in prices compared to the same month of the previous year) was 10.5% in August, 8.9% in September, 7.3% in October, 6.8% in November and 5.7 % in % in December in Spain, according to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Spain closed last year with the lowest inflation in the European Union, after having one of the highest values ​​in the first half of 2022 and having registered the highest rate in the country since 1984 in July.
This despite the record rise in food prices, which in December returned to above 15% (15.7%), compared to the same month last year, values ​​that are the highest since 1994, according to The INE points out this Monday.
According to the January estimate released this Monday, without the prices of unprocessed food and energy (core inflation), the variation in prices in January was 7.5% in Spain, five tenths more than the 7% of December.
The increase in inflation expected in January “is mainly due to fuel prices,” according to the Spanish INE, which made some changes to the calculation this month, such as the introduction of electricity prices on the free market, which until now excluded
In January, the Spanish government ended a discount of 20 cents for each liter of fuel purchased by individuals.
At the same time, this month, in an attempt to respond to rising food prices, a new set of measures came into force, including the suspension of VAT (consumption tax) on some foods and products considered basic.
Throughout 2022, Spain approved several packages of measures to deal with inflation of more than 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), around 45,000 million euros, including direct aid to consumers and companies and tax benefits, such as the reduction of VAT on electricity and gas to 5% or a discount of 20 cents per liter on the purchase of fuel.
Source: Observadora
