Industrial prices in January dipped by 3.8 percent year over year, compared with January 2023, easing the decline by 2.5 percentage points from December’s fall, according to data released by Spain’s National Statistics Institute on Monday.
With the January 2024 year-over-year drop, inflation in the industrial sector has extended eleven straight months of declines after March 2023 ended a 26-month run of gains, during which double-digit increases were recorded for more than two decades.
The January evolution of industrial prices was driven by a rise in energy costs, which added eight points to the annual rate and left it at minus 12.6 percent due to higher production, transportation, and distribution costs of electric power, compared with January 2023.
In contrast, non-durable consumer goods trimmed their annual rate by 1.3 points, to 5.7 percent, the lowest since December 2021, reflecting a slower increase in beverage manufacturing compared with the previous year. Conversely, prices for oils and fats saw a more pronounced rise than in January of the prior year.
The annual variation rate for industrial prices excluding energy stood at 0.2 percent in January, nine tenths lower than December, and four points above the general index.
The industrial price index published on Monday is the first to be released in Base 2021. The statistical authority updated weights and changes in the product basket. For example, the production of other non-distilled beverages and fiber optic cable manufacturing were removed from the index.
Prices Rise in January
On a monthly basis, January 2024 over December 2023, industrial prices increased by 0.2 percent after three consecutive months of declines.
The sectors that most influenced this uptick were oils and fats manufacturing at +3.8 percent, electricity production and distribution at +0.7 percent, beverage manufacturing at +2.9 percent, and oil refining at +0.4 percent.
On the downside, the largest monthly falls occurred in gas production at -4.4 percent, precious metals production at -2 percent, the manufacture of animal feed products at -0.8 percent, and the processing of meat products at -0.5 percent.
All Regions Show Lower Industrial Prices
According to the statistics office, all autonomous communities posted negative industrial price rates at the end of January 2024.
The most pronounced declines were in the Basque Country at -7.8 percent, Cantabria at -7.7 percent, and Aragon at -6.3 percent, while the milder negative rates appeared in Andalusia at -0.4 percent, Extremadura at -1.5 percent, the Canary Islands at -1.6 percent, and Navarra at -1.8 percent.