The Consumer Price Index (CPI) reduced its interannual rate by six tenths in August, to 2.2%, its lowest figure since June 2023, when it stood at 1.9%, according to data released this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), according to Europa Press.
The organization explained that the moderation of the CPI to 2.2% is due to the fall in the cost of fuel, which increased in August 2023 and, to a lesser extent, the fall in the cost of food, which caused its prices to fall more this month than they did a year ago.
With the year-on-year decline in the CPI in the eighth month of the year, inflation has now entered three consecutive months of declines following increases in March, April and May, which pushed the CPI to 3.6%.
The INE includes in the CPI data overview an estimate of core inflation (excluding unprocessed food and energy products), which in August moderated by one tenth, to 2.7%, its lowest value since January 2022 and five tenths above the general rate.
In monthly terms (August vs. July), the CPI showed no variation compared to the previous month, unlike the 0.5% decrease recorded in July and the 0.5% monthly increase in August 2023. The INE will publish the final CPI data for August on September 12.
“The lowest rate in the last year”
The Minister of Economy, Commerce and Enterprise, Carlos Body, described on Thursday as “good news” the moderation of the CPI in August to 2.2%, “the lowest rate of last year”, thanks to the fall in the prices of fuel and food products.
“We are therefore continuing this process of price moderation towards the European Central Bank’s 2% target,” Body said in an assessment of data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for the August CPI.
Furthermore, Body highlighted the decline in core inflation, which moderated by a tenth, from 2.8% to 2.7%.
“These good data, in short, what they tell us is that the government’s economic policy measures are effective, effective because they make it possible to make compatible one of the highest growth rates in the eurozone with this progressive moderation of prices and the recovery of household purchasing power,” he stressed.
