Added to the economic rigors after Christmas this year is the rise in mortgages, the cost of energy and a shopping basket that does not give up
Unwrapped all the gifts of Kings, January really begins now, especially for family budgets that have been left shaking. It is another tradition after Christmas. But on this occasion, the cost that must be faced is even more complex than the previous ones due to the general rise in prices in the shopping basket, due to tensions in receipts and invoices and, above all, due to mortgages.
The Euribor, on the way to 4%
When last April the Euribor was positive for the first time since 2016, few mortgagees imagined that they would have to face an increase in their installments in the conditions that they are verifying these days. The revisions of the housing loans come to suppose monthly increases of more than 200 euros.
Because the interbank rate has not only consolidated positively (a year ago it was at -0.5%), but also because the rise has been unstoppable. The month of December closed at 3%. And what is worse, from organizations such as Asufin they anticipate that the June index will already reach the level of 4%, which means an increase for every 100,000 euros of mortgage, with a differential of 1%, of just over 2,000 euros.
“This review will show an increase in annual extra cost in just one year, if we take into account what happened in 2022, of 2,769 euros,” they point out in the financial association. Allocating up to 200 euros more per month to the mortgage means stopping spending on other options, getting worse at the end of the month or, in the best of cases, abandoning the savings that were achieved.
The energy keeps lurking
Electricity and gas have been the great handicaps that families and companies have had to face during 2022. And despite the truce that seems to have been given in recent days, the average price of electricity in 2022 almost doubles to that of 2021 and is the most expensive in history, with 209 euros/MWh. In fact, the most expensive year since the beginning of the historical series with data available regarding the cost of electricity has just closed.
Only in August were 307.8 euros/MWh reached and on March 8 the price was a historical record, approaching 545 euros/MWh. Despite the Iberian cap, the reduction in VAT to 5% and the decrease in charges on the bill, electricity will continue to be expensive this year. Even more so if the cold worsens these weeks of January and the demand skyrockets. Electricity futures anticipate an average price of 150 euros/MWh for this year, far from the average of 45 euros/MWh in the Spanish market.
In the case of gas, the transfer of customers at the regulated rate (TUR), limited by the Executive, remains constant. This modality has risen 8.6% since January, reflecting the cost of raw materials. Although without the TUR, the escalation can be up to four times greater.
Waiting for the VAT to be noticed
The basic food shopping basket is the last CPI item that has not yet reflected the reduction in energy costs. Until December, they were up more than 15%. The year has started with the reduction of VAT on various products. While waiting for families to verify this measure, a household with an income of 1,000 euros spends almost 20% on food; the one with an income of 5,000 euros does not spend more than 12% on the shopping basket.
#tougher #January #slope #due #escalating #inflation