In the second quarter, air transportation led with a 25.1 percent rise in prices compared to the same period in 2021, marking the largest annual increase since the series began in 2007. The National Institute of Statistics reports this notable jump, highlighting a period where demand for air travel surged and suppliers adjusted prices to reflect higher operating costs and capacity constraints. The Service Sector Price Index tracks quarterly movements in the price of services provided to companies across various sectors, offering insight into price dynamics for producers and the broader business environment.
Among the fifteen services activities tracked by INE for price indices, the majority showed price increases at the annual level in the second quarter. Ten activities registered higher year-on-year rates, four activities saw declines, and one remained stable. This pattern underscores a broad upward tilt in service costs, with the index serving as a key indicator of evolving input prices and service charges faced by firms. The overall trend illustrates how price signals in services have shifted over the year, influencing budgeting, planning, and competitiveness for companies across sectors.
Specifically, the annual price change for passenger air transportation stood out at 25.1 percent, a 16-point acceleration from the previous quarter. Within the same period, another indicator showed an annual rate improvement to -0.9 percent, reflecting a modest easing in a sector that had previously faced price pressures. Meanwhile, telecommunications contributed to the downward movement by reducing its annual rate by nine-tenths to -1 percent, and security and investigation activities also showed a softer annual rate of 2.9 percent, a decline of four-tenths from the preceding quarter. These shifts highlight a mixed landscape where some service areas continue to price up while others ease, influencing overall inflation dynamics and corporate cost management. [Cite INE]