There is no way inflation will stop family economies. The relaxation recorded in the last stretch of 2022 is becoming a mirage, because The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is returning to pull strongly upwards and the shopping cart is the main character.. Food prices in the province of Alicante skyrocketed by at least 16.9% last year, once again contributing to the 2.2% increase recorded in February. Actually, It was this monthly increase in energy that caused inflation to rise to 6.3% year-on-year.. And worst of all, the light at the end of the tunnel is yet to be seen, as experts agree that the current trend will continue in the coming months.
Last July, the CPI, with a very similar evolution to that recorded across the country, Reached a ceiling of 11.2% in the province of Alicante. From then on, a gradual decline began, reaching 5.7% recorded in December, with a trend that is expected to continue. But nothing could be further from the truth, because at the start of the new year the winning streak was cut short, above all by a shopping cart that became more expensive despite the Government-approved VAT reduction for products considered essential. .
And this rise in food prices continued in February as more than notable increases were recorded in products in the Valencian Community as a whole. This is the case for fresh legumes and vegetables, whose prices have increased by 9.7 percent this month.or fresh fruit making up 8.2%. However, on an annual basis, increases of up to 46.7% in sugar, 33.8% in milk, 33.3% in oil or 25.4% in case were much more significant. egg
from the shopping cart, The 3.9% increase in energy prices in February was also noteworthy., after the ceasefire in recent months; 1.6% in alcoholic beverages and tobacco; 1.5% in entertainment and culture; and 1% in restaurants and hotels. The only thing remaining is transportation, 0.8%; and clothing and footwear, 0.5%.
On an annual basis, energy alone fell 9.9%. Beginning with food as leading leaders, everything followed by spirits and tobacco rose 9.6%; furniture and household goods with 7.9%; restaurants and hotels, 7.6%; clothing and shoes, 5.8%; and entertainment and culture, 4.5%.
The problem with all this is that you don’t know when it will end. José María Gómez Gras, professor of Business Organization at Miguel Hernández University (UMH) in Elche, said, “There are many factors that affect prices and make it very difficult to predict a development. What’s happening now with the war in Ukraine or the banking collapse following the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States». According to Gómez Gras, inflation will continue at high levels in the coming months because “it is difficult to act with accurate and effective measures on food prices in the short term, because by then they are going through a long chain to reach the final consumer.
Paloma Taltavull, professor of Applied Economic Analysis at the University of Alicante (UA), attributes the price increase in the shopping cart to strong demand from various European countries and the tension created. . “The interesting thing about the case is that, As a province that produces certain products such as vegetables and fruits, we are faced with higher inflation compared to other regions.», he emphasizes.
BBVA Research raises growth forecast to 1.6%
BBVA Research revised its 2023 growth forecast for Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by four-tenths to 1.6%, reducing the likelihood of contraction in the short-term, while lowering its forecast for 2024 from 3.4% to 2.6%. %. As explained by BBVA Research’s head of Economic Analysis, the main factor explaining the better GDP growth this year is the European economy’s avoidance of energy use restriction scenarios and the reduction in the cost of producing it. , Rafael Domenech.
Source: Informacion
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