Inflation moderated in September to 1.5%, compared to the same month of last year, as the INE announced this Friday. The CPI (consumer price index) fell eight tenths from 2.3% in August. This interannual rate is the lowest in three and a half years. Exactly, since March 2021.
“The drop in fuel prices but also in the prices of food and electricity allowed the month of September to produce the largest drop in the inflation rate of last year,” explains the Ministry of the Economy .
Core inflation, which specifically excludes energy and food prices from its calculation to give a more stable view of price developments, also continued to fall to 2.4%. This is the lowest interannual rate since January 2022.
In the monthly calculation, comparing September to August, prices fell by 0.6% if we take the general CPI as a reference. This is the largest drop since September 2022. For its part, the underlying CPI fell by 0.4% in September compared to August. This is the largest monthly decline since the start of the year.
“The continued reduction in inflation continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of economic policy measures and the capacity of the Spanish economy to reconcile the highest economic growth among the main countries of the Eurozone, four times higher than the euro zone average, with moderate prices. they add from the Carlos Corpo department.
“These factors, as well as the positive development of the labor market, make it possible to improve the purchasing capacity of citizens and the real income of households,” analyzes the ministry.
On average, inflation will be slightly above 3% throughout 2024. The OECD revised its inflation forecasts on Wednesday, estimating that in 2025 it will certainly be around 2% on average, over the whole year. A forecast similar to the one she is launching for the entire euro zone, and which will encourage the European Central Bank (ECB) to lower official interest rates and to relax financing conditions and the cost of mortgages and loans. loans in general.
Access to housing due to rising prices constitutes the main problem for families, especially for the most vulnerable and in capitals and tourist areas, where work is concentrated. The other major economic problem is wealth and income inequality, which means that households that rely solely on their wages have been particularly stifled by inflation, rising interest rates and the housing market.
