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ARCHIVED - Inflation drops to 8 per cent in Spain but grocery prices continue to rise
Electricity and fuel prices have decreased this month but grocery shopping in Spain continues to get more expensive
The alarming rise in prices across all sectors in Spain has experienced a welcome, if slight, slowdown in April: inflation has still increased by 8.4% in the last year, but it is almost a point and a half lower than in March, a month where the country saw the figure reach its highest level in 37 years and no fewer than 10 autonomous communities reached double digits.
The drop in the price of fuel and electricity in the last month are the two main reasons for the fall. The government’s bonus scheme of 20 cents per litre on petrol and diesel costs has drastically reduced fuel costs, while a new agreement reached with Brussels on putting a price cap on gas means that energy prices are set to drop considerably more in the coming weeks.
It’s not all good news however, and most ordinary consumers are still feeling the pinch as the cost of staple grocery items continues to soar, with some experts predicting that the average shopper will spend around 500 euros this year on food and household products.
In the grand scheme of things, prices have barely fallen by 0.1% in the last month overall, and food costs have risen far higher than in April last year and well above core inflation, which itself has reached the highest level since 1995.
Employment unions have been calling for wage increases for months now to ensure the purchasing power of “the working people,” but they have come up against still opposition from the Bank of Spain. The financial institution argues that increasing salaries in line with inflation would only create a vicious cycle, pushing prices up further, but with grocery cost increases seemingly unstoppable, the unions see a “worrying trend that threatens the economic and social recovery of our country.”
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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