Spain’s inflation hits a three-year low at 1.5% in September 2024, below the expected 1.9%.
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Relief at Last? Spain’s Inflation Drops to 1.5%, Its Lowest Since 2021.
Spain’s inflation hits a three-year low at 1.5% in September 2024, below the expected 1.9%. While inflation has slowed, prices for essentials like food, fuel, and electricity are still rising, just at a slower pace. Core inflation eased to 2.4%, its lowest since January 2022. Find out how this affects the cost of living in Spain and the UK.
Put on your party hats and crack open a bottle of champagne, here’s some news to tickle our readers’ wallets.
According to current figures, the inflation rate in Spain dropped to 1.5% in September 2024, which is its lowest in over three years (below the expected 1.9%). This is a significant cooling, with even core inflation (which excludes volatile items like food and energy) easing to 2.4%
The inflation rates of fuel prices, food, and electricity costs were lower than in September 2023.
Inflation in areas like recreation and culture also slowed down compared to last year.
Hold your horses. Let’s not get carried away here, folks. Inflation may have slowed, but in reality, prices are still creeping up. Your weekly shop at Mercadona, your energy bills, and that all-important fuel for the car haven’t just magically become cheaper; they’re just not going up as fast as they were.
Core inflation – which doesn’t include elements like food and energy -has eased to a relatively cheery 2.4%, marking its lowest ebb since January 2022, down from 2.7% in August. Happy days.
On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices have delightfully dipped by 0.6%, defying the stodgy expectations of no change whatsoever.
Meanwhile, the EU-harmonised Consumer Price Index has inched up by 1.7% year-on-year and slipped by 0.1% from July. Both figures, you’ll note, are just a tad below the forecasts of 1.7% and 0%, respectively. All this riveting information comes courtesy of the ever-diligent National Statistics Institute (INE).
Before we all start celebrating, let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean prices are going down. You’ll still be paying more at the checkout than you did a year ago- it’s just that the increases aren’t quite as eye-watering as they were. Woop dee doop.
How is the cost of living crisis affecting cities in Spain like Malaga?
How Do Inflation Rates in the UK Compare to Inflation Rates in Spain?
Meanwhile, back in the UK, inflation held steady at 2.2% in August 2024, higher than Spain’s 1.5% but still much lower than the UK’s inflation highs of 2022. But don’t be fooled; while this figure is lower than previous peaks, core inflation is still a staggering 4.3%, according to the Office of National Statistics, driven by relentless price hikes in housing, energy, and services.
