ARCHIVED - Spanish inflation rate reaches another 4-year high
After low post-lockdown prices last year the annual rate stands at 2.9 per cent
The latest provisional data published by the Spanish government’s central statistics unit on Thursday show that the annual inflation rate in July was 2.9 per cent, two tenths of a point higher than in June and the highest figure reported since early in 2017.
This follows a period of 12 months following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic during which the rate was never above 0.5 per cent, dropping below zero between April and December last year, and much of the increase over the last 12 months can be attributed to the low prices after lockdown ended in Spain last year in the hospitality and tourism sectors. Rising fuel prices are also a factor.
However, significant rises in the price of electricity, gas and petroleum products have undoubtedly contributed in no small way to the increase.
At the same time, the retail price index in July is actually 0.7 per cent lower than in the previous month.
As ever, it should be pointed out that these are only provisional data, but there is unlikely to be much variation when the final figures for the month are published during August.
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