Alicante continues to emerge as one of the regions in Spain where inflation remains stubborn. While prices for fuel and electricity have eased nationwide, that relief is not enough to offset rises in other essentials. The annual consumer price index in the region eased only slightly, slipping from 3.5% to 3.2%. Yet this improvement does little to counterbalance higher costs in hotel stays and everyday items like clothing and footwear. As a result, the general price level in the province has hovered at 3.7%, which is half a percentage point above the national average.
According to data released this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics, only Tenerife, Melilla, Albacete, Malaga and Córdoba report higher inflation rates. In Alicante, the figures exceed the national level, with a peak of 4.3% reported in the latest release.
Among the drawbacks of the widening gap between Alicante and the country as a whole, there is a glimmer of relief: the cost of groceries has risen at a slower pace in the state overall. The annual increase remains moderate, especially for food and non-alcoholic beverages, standing around 8.7% in Alicante versus about 9% across Spain.
Shopping cart growth in Alicante decreased to 9.4%
All told, this remains a significant burden for many households. Certain items show especially large increases: oils and fats are about 43.5% more expensive than a year ago; legumes and vegetables have risen by roughly 15.8%; and lamb and pork have climbed about 14.2% year over year.
Tourism
The inflation gap with the rest of the country is largely explained by higher prices for some tourist services, notably hotel charges. Data from INE shows that Alicante’s tourism-related costs were about 21.3% higher last year. Of course, that is not the entire story. Residents also faced higher everyday expenses: clothing rose by 4.4% in the province, compared with 2.2% nationwide, and footwear increased by 4.2% relative to the same national average.
Similarly, rents grew by 2.6% in Alicante versus 2.1% across Spain, and educational services rose by as much as 6.5% compared with 2.8% elsewhere in the country.
Efforts to curb energy costs have been uneven. While the national electricity and gasoline bills fell by 17.5% year over year, Alicante saw a smaller decline of 16.2% in the same period.
Pension
On the pension front, November inflation data now enables a precise estimate of the next year’s pension increase, calculated using the average December-November CPI. The expected rise is 3.8%, which translates to an increase of about 39.36 euros for the average local pension. The current average pension stands at 1,036 euros, while social security payments continue to be disbursed across the province, supported by roughly 337,124 contributions.