The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3% in May compared with the previous month and raised its year-on-year rate by three tenths to 3.6%, its highest level since April 2023, due to the increase in electricity prices following the rise in VAT on electricity and to the fact that fuel prices fell less than a year earlier, according to the final data published on Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), which confirm those published at the end of last month.
For its part, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages moderated its year-on-year increase in May to 4.4%, three tenths less than in April, mostly due to increases in the prices of fruit and meat, lower than in the same month in 2023, as well as the fall in the prices of oils and fats, compared with the rise in May last year.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise has highlighted that this rate of 4.4% in the food group is one of the lowest since November 2021 and implies a reduction of more than 12 points in the last year.
With the increase in the year-on-year CPI in the fifth month of the year, inflation has now risen for three consecutive months, following increases of four tenths and one tenth of a point in March and April, respectively.
The rise in May brings inflation to its highest level since April 2023, when the CPI exceeded 4%.
