CdM | Inflation stood at 2.9% at the end of 2025, representing a 0.1% drop in the year-on-year rate in December, thanks to lower petrol prices and despite the rise in food prices, according to final data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE), which confirm the preliminary figures.
In detail, transport and leisure and culture were the groups that stood out most for their influence on the decline in the annual rate, while food and non-alcoholic beverages was the group with the greatest positive influence.
Thus, in transport, the annual rate fell by half a point to 1.8% due to the fall in prices of fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles, compared to the rise in December 2024. Leisure and culture recorded an annual variation of 0.5%, which was seven tenths below last month’s figure. This behaviour was due to the prices of package holidays, which rose less than in December of the previous year, and the prices of recreational and sports services, which fell while in the same month of 2024 they rose.
Meanwhile, the annual rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by two tenths of a percentage point to 3%, the highest rate since July 2024, mainly due to the rise in the prices of legumes and vegetables and oils and fats, compared to the fall in December 2024.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise comments that ‘in 2025, on average, overall inflation continues on a moderate path and closes the year at 2.7%. Inflation continues to moderate compared to the 2024 average and remains lower than wage increases, allowing for gains in purchasing power’.
By autonomous community, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded positive annual rates in all of them, with the Community of Madrid having the highest rate (3.7%) and the Region of Murcia the lowest (2.4%).
The core inflation rate, i.e. the overall index excluding unprocessed food and energy products, remained at 2.6%, its highest level since December 2024. Thus, on average, core inflation fell to 2.3% in 2025, compared to 2.9% in 2024.
The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 3%, two tenths lower than the previous month.
On the other hand, the INE highlights that the CPI for December 2025 is the last to be calculated on the basis of 2021. With the publication of the advance index for January 2026, the new 2025 base will be implemented. This brings forward the entry into force of the change in base, which usually takes place every five years, by one year, in order to implement the new international classification of consumption, ECOICOP v2, jointly in the CPI and the HICP, as established by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/3159.
