The year ended with 5.8% inflation, one point lower than in November.

Head of Government Pedro Sánchez announced last Tuesday that the annual rate in Spain lowest in the euro area and European Union (EU). In this context, he drew the framework. new crisis relief package Including measures that Congress must approve at an extraordinary plenary session in January, such as removing VAT on bread, milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables, legumes or grains, and reducing it from 10% to 5% on oil and pasta.

These measures will remain in effect until 30 June or until the annual base inflation rate, which excludes energy and unprocessed food prices, falls below 5.5%. This indicator reached its maximum point in August with 6.4% and remains in this environment. The general consumer price index (CPI) peaked at 10.8% last July, equal to the level of 40 years ago.

After an initial stage in which the increase in the general level of prices was supported by energy prices, there was another stage in which this was transferred to the whole economy, as reflected in core inflation. Y The most compelling variable was food, with an increase of over 15% until November.. Details for December won’t be available until mid-January when the final CPI is released, but everything points to a continuation of the uptrend.

As a matter of fact, according to the analysis made by the Consumers and Users Organization (OCU), which has been monitoring the development of these prices since the end of November, shopping cart Christmas was 8.2% more expensive last week compared to a month ago. And above all, the price of fish and shellfish, two typical products of the Christmas celebrations this year and which will not benefit from VAT reductions, will not benefit from VAT reductions and meat will not benefit.

The evolution of food is what drives the Government to act. such as measures affecting VAT, its cost reaches 661 million euros. Another big star venture is a 200 Euro check in one payment for less than 27,000 Euro income and less than 75,000 Euro assets. . This time it should, in principle, work better than the previous 200 euros, which only reached a quarter of the planned families.

The executive’s plan to mitigate the effects of inflation amounts to about 10,000 million, which, according to Sánchez, will be added to the 35,000 million allocated so far to reduce the impact of the war in Ukraine.

The evolution of the general level of prices, the contribution retirement experienced an 8.5% increase for the next year following the approved pattern of the average CPI of the last 12 months (November 2022-December 2021). That same week, the Cabinet approved the royal decree giving the green light to the revaluation, as well as the 15% increase in non-contributory pensions and the extension of the minimum living income.