Spain: Harmonized inflation falls to lowest level since May in September
Harmonized inflation dropped to 9.3% in September, following August’s 10.5%. September’s reading represented the weakest inflation rate since May. The moderation was broad-based, with reduced price pressures recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages, transportation, and housing and utilities.
The trend pointed up, with annual average harmonized inflation coming in at 8.2% in September (August: 7.8%). Meanwhile, consumer price inflation fell to 9.0% in September, from August’s 10.5%.
Lastly, harmonized consumer prices rose 0.05% in September over the previous month, coming in below the 0.26% rise seen in August.
Commenting on the release, Wouter Thierie, economist at ING, stated:
“The decline in headline inflation is mainly due to base effects that are starting to kick in. We are now comparing energy prices to a period when energy prices started to rise in 2021. Increasing base effects will further weaken year-on-year comparisons. Encouragingly, core inflation has also cooled slightly, suggesting that the strength of second-round effects is waning, mitigating the risks of entering a wage-price spiral. In the coming months, the cooling demand will ease inflationary pressures as it will become more difficult for companies to pass on new price increases to the end customer. Nevertheless, inflation will remain high until the end of the year.”