Inflation data from September shows higher costs for energy and certain foods
Inflation rose in September to 3.5 percent, driven by higher prices in electricity, fuels, and olive oil. The National Institute of Statistics published the figures on a Friday, confirming the earlier data released by INE on September 28. The Consumer Price Index CPI rose by 0.2 percent month over month from August, lifting the annual CPI rate to 3.5 percent. This marks a notable increase from August’s 2.6 percent and is the highest rate seen since April. Olive oil prices climbed again, rising 10.1 percent from August and making this food item about 67 percent more expensive than a year earlier. In September 2022 electricity prices fell compared with August, with electric power down 17 percent and gasoline down 5.8 percent. By September 2023, the opposite trend occurred. Energy products, which carry a heavier weight in the consumer basket, became more expensive. Electricity prices increased by 1.6 percent from August, remaining below last year’s peak but still showing a substantial year over year decline of 38.3 percent. Gasoline rose by 2.3 percent in September compared with August, contributing to an annual inflation rate of 15.8 percent for motor fuels. These changes in energy prices, together with the base effect from the previous year, largely explain the 0.2 percent monthly rise in the CPI in September and the near one-point increase in the annual rate to 3.5 percent.
In food and nonalcoholic beverages, the group posted a 0.5 percent increase from August, keeping the annual inflation rate at 10.5 percent, the same as in August. Olive oil again stood out, registering a fresh 10.1 percent increase in September and pushing its annual inflation rate to 67 percent.
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Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, continued to ease in September by three-tenths of a percentage point, reaching 5.8 percent, the lowest level since June 2022. The harmonized index of consumer prices IPCA shows an annual rate of change at 3.3 percent in September, up nine tenths from the previous month, while the monthly IPCA change stands at 0.6 percent. The Ministry of Economy emphasizes that Spain remains among the eurozone countries with the lowest inflation, a status reinforced after a substantial year-over-year decline and alongside solid growth indicators.