The data for January (5.3%) reinforces the ECB’s position for a new interest rate rise of 50 basis points at the next meeting in March
The prices of the shopping cart do not give up in Europe despite the measures taken by each country. The data for January confirmed this Thursday by Eurostat reveal that core inflation (which does not include energy or fresh food) reached a new all-time record, standing at an average of 5.3% in the euro area, one tenth more than the December data .
What’s more, Eurostat data makes it possible to compare the figures by eliminating products. And the data is much higher if only energy is excluded from inflation and all food is maintained, reaching 7.3%, the highest data in the series and five points above what it was just a year ago.
And if only the rise in energy prices is taken into account, the data for January reflect a moderation from 25.5% in December to 18.9% in January. In the case of fresh food, the price increase in the first month of the year was 11.3%, compared to 12% the previous month.
These data reinforce the position of the European Central Bank (ECB) to undertake a new rise in interest rates of 50 basis points at its meeting in March, when it will publish its new macroeconomic projections for the euro area. Last week the German representative on the ECB board, Isabel Schnabel, warned that the region “is still far from claiming victory” in its fight against inflation.
“A broad process of disinflation has not even begun in the euro area,” he stated, referring to the high level of core and pointing out that the evolution of prices discounting the effect of energy and food “plays an important role” in the thinking of the ECB.
In Spain, the underlying inflation data recorded its highest level since 1986 in January, with a rate of 7.5%, one and a half points above general inflation (5.9%). The ministry led by Nadia Calviño is confident that this rate will reflect the decline in general inflation and energy costs in the coming months.
The general rate of inflation moderated slightly in January to 8.6% in the euro area countries, after the 9.2% it marked in December. This is a figure much higher than that of Spain, which registered the best figure of the European countries (5.9%), only surpassed by one tenth by Luxembourg.
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