High inflation spreads to all goods and services in Spain

Spanish inflation stood at 8.3% in April compared to a year before, one tenth less than expected in its calculation two weeks ago, the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) said on Friday.

Spanish households have been dealing with skyrocketing prices for many months now, mainly as a result of the escalation in prices of energy products -fuels, natural gas- and fresh food. In this context, April's inflation result has a positive side, because it implies a decrease compared to the 9.8% inflation rate recorded in March.

The government's decision to approve a discount of 20 cents per liter of gasoline and diesel has been key in this decline.

The bad news is that prices continue to rise due to the contagion effect of energy, which ends up having an impact on the rest of the shopping cart.

In April, all foods measured by the INE became more expensive, especially olive oil (42.5% year-on-year), pasta (25%), flour and cereals (23.2%) and fresh fruits (9.5%). The prices of other basic products also rose considerably: bread (10.1%), chicken (12.7%), milk (14%), eggs (21.6%), butter (12.8%), rice (10.2%).

The main source of concern amid the current inflationary drift is that it does not only affect energy and groceries.

Core inflation

Core inflation - which measures the prices of all but the most volatile products such as fuel and fresh food - soared to 4.4% year-on-year, its highest rate since December 1995. In other words, all goods and services consumed in Spain are, on average, 4.4% more expensive than a year ago.

With the rise in April, average inflation so far this year in Spain stands at 7.95%, according to the INE.

Month-on-month, that is, comparing the prices of April with those of March, inflation fell two tenths (-0.2%), while core inflation rose 1.8%.