Alex Trelinski
INFLATION in Spain fell in January according to figures produced on Monday by the National Statistics Institute(INE).
The INE says that January’s rate was 6% compared to 6.5% in December which was Spain’s highest figure since 1992.
It’s the first annual inflation rate drop since February 2021.
In January 2021 prices leapt up fuelled by electricity costs due snow storms across Spain.
Annual core inflation, which does not include power prices and fresh food products, hit 2.4% this month, up by 0.3% on the December total.
The monthly comparative consumer price index fell by 0.5% in January, compared to a 1.2% December increase.
Nevertheless, the index rose by 6.1% on an annual basis.
Items included in the index do vary and now include face masks.
Changes are made to ‘include new products whose consumption starts to be significant’, said the INE.
Online newspaper subscriptions have also been included while in the world of entertaining the era of streaming and downloading means that CDs and DVDs have been dropped.
Meanwhile retail sales in Spain dropped sharply in December.
Store sales fell 5.9% in seasonally and calendar-adjusted terms last month compared to November, according to the INE.
December’s fall follows a 5.6% rise on month in November, and marks the steepest decline since January 2021.
On an annual basis, retail sales were 2.3% lower in seasonally and calendar-adjusted terms, the INE said.
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