CPI rises to 6%, with core inflation at 7.6% and food at 16%

Inflation Spain

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.9% in February compared to the previous month and raised its year-on-year rate by one tenth of a percentage point, to 6%, due to the increase in electricity, package holidays and food, which saw their prices rise by 16.6% compared to February 2022 despite the measures taken by the government, according to the final data published on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).


The definitive year-on-year inflation for February is one tenth of a percentage point lower than the rate at the end of last month, when the INE pointed to a rate of 6.1%, while the monthly rise was finally nine tenths of a percentage point, compared with the increase of 1% initially estimated.
With the rise recorded in the second month of 2023, inflation has now risen for two consecutive months in its year-on-year rate, following the upturn in January, when it rose by two tenths of a percentage point to 5.9%.


For its part, core inflation (excluding unprocessed food and energy products) rose by one tenth of a percentage point in February to 7.6%, its highest rate since December 1986. With this figure, one tenth of a point lower than initially estimated by the INE, core inflation exceeds the general index by more than 1.5 points.


According to the INE, food prices rose by 16.6% year-on-year in February, more than one point higher than in the previous month. This performance was influenced by the rise in the price of vegetables and meat, as well as the fact that fish and seafood prices fell less than last year.