Prices in Spain rose 3.2% in May, according to an official estimate released today which, if confirmed, shows a drop of nine tenths of inflation, which had been 4.1% in April.
This evolution of the inflation rate (increase in prices compared to the same month of the previous year) in Spain “is mainly due to the decrease in the price of fuels, which had increased in May of last year”, according to the National Institute of Statistics. . (INE) Spanish.
“It also influences, although to a lesser extent, a lower rise in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages than in May 2022,” according to the INE.
The underlying inflation estimate (which excludes energy and unprocessed fresh food) for this month is 6.1%, five tenths less than in April.
Throughout 2022, Spain approved several packages of measures to deal with inflation of more than 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), around 45,000 million euros, including direct aid to consumers and companies and tax benefits, such as the reduction of VAT on electricity and gasoline to 5% or a discount of 20 cents per liter on the purchase of fuel.
In an attempt to respond to rising food prices, a new set of measures came into force in January, including the suspension of VAT (consumption tax) on some foods and products considered basic.
Spain closed last year with the lowest inflation rate in the European Union (5.7%), after having one of the highest values in the first half of 2022 and having registered the highest inflation in the country since 1984 in July (10.77%). .
In April, the last month for which data are available, Spain continued to have one of the lowest inflation rates in the European Union.
The inflation rate in the euro zone rose, in April, to 7.0%, but that of the European Union fell to 8.1%, according to Eurostat.
Source: TSF
