Spain Consumer Inflation Rises To 3.5%

Spain’s consumer inflation has risen to 3.5% year on year as of September 2023, in another nod to the continuing tough financial conditions the country faces.

Across the world, people are having to tighten their belts thanks to a cost of living crisis, caused by a number of factors on a macro level, such as the war in Ukraine, and then on a more local level, for example as different countries continue to recover from covid.

Inflation is making life very difficult for a number of people around the world at the moment, then, and it is proving stubborn in Spain with it rising to 3.5% year on year for the end of September.

Spanish inflation rise causes

As per Reuters, this rise was driven by energy costs, whilst food inflation remained in double-digits.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose by 10.5% year on year, whilst core inflation was 5.8%.

The Bank of Spain said it expected energy to be the main driver of higher prices in the short term future, whilst food inflation was likely to slow in coming quarters.

Despite the slight increases in the summer, meanwhile, Spain’s inflation rate has actually been one of the fastest to decline in the eurozone after it peaked at 10.8% back in July of 2022.

Some positives to take, then, but with the geopolitical environment still so unsettled, few are saying the end is in sight for increased prices.

The war in Ukraine continues and now the Israel/Hamas conflict is only set to put further strain on world economies.

Truly, it’s a testing time for policy makers and, of course, for consumers, and it seems safe to say that we’re not quite out of the woods just yet.