The decrease in electricity and fuels pulls prices down. Core inflation falls two tenths to 6.2%, according to the INE advance
Relief, although only in part, for the pockets of consumers. After three consecutive months of double-digit growth, September inflation moderated to 9% from 10.5% in August, according to data released this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
As they emphasize from the institution, it is the greatest decrease in the monthly rate of the CPI in a month of September since the beginning of the historical series, in 1961. And good fault of it is the decrease in electricity, which threw the drop in prices, as well as gasoline and transportation.
The third vice president of the Government and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, estimated yesterday that the ‘Iberian exception’ has allowed Spanish electricity consumers to save more than 2,600 million euros, with a saving of 17 euros per bill per month with respect to what would have been paid without the mechanism.
Ribera pointed out that the mechanism, which allows capping the price of gas for electricity generation, has placed the average price of the ‘pool’ since its application at 146 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), while the average price of electricity for regulated rate customers linked to the wholesale market, including the additional adjustment for the ‘Iberian exception’, it has been 267 euros/MWh, “which is 35% below what the French pay, 40% less than the Italians and 25% lower than the Germans,” he said.
With regard to gasoline, the latest data from the European Union Oil Bulletin indicate that the average price of gasoline chained its third consecutive week of declines last week, after falling 2.3%, to 1,708 euros , its lowest level since mid-April.
On the other hand, core inflation, which excludes unprocessed food and energy products, has also fallen two tenths after 14 consecutive months of increases, to 6.2% from 6.4% in August, when it hit its lowest point. highest value since January 1993.
Pay attention to the ECB
The decline is, without a doubt, a breather for citizens, companies and the Government, who have seen how the escalation of prices in recent months has become a real nightmare for their daily budgets.
However, the 9% left by the early data for September is still a very high figure. And it seems clear that the European Central Bank (ECB) is obliged to speed up interest rate hikes, with the prospect that the next move higher at the October meeting will reach 75 basis points.
At least, the president of the organization, Christine Lagarde, has been anticipating this greater aggressiveness in monetary policy for weeks. The objective is that the movements do not catch by surprise. Just yesterday, she reiterated her message that the fight against inflation is a priority over economic recovery.
The great fear is that, as the OECD already anticipated in a recent report, the rise in prices will become a long-term structural problem.
#Inflation #leaves #double #digits #falls #September