The downward trend is broken: sugar, oil and fruit trigger inflation
The shopping cart and a more expensive summer vacation this year torpedoed price stability. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) confirmed this Friday that the Spanish CPI closed July at 2.3%, an increase above the 2% recommended by the European Central Bank.
The blame for this deviation, which comes after two months of positive trends, May and June, is attributable to food, which is 10.8% more expensive, fuel without a discount and expensive tourist packages.
On the opposite side, electricity, gas or clothing and footwear fell in price in July, the latter thanks to sales, although this campaign's savings were lower than last summer's.
Sugar increases its price by 44%
The CPI package corresponding to food and non-alcoholic beverages, the shopping cart, rose five tenths and reached a 10.8% increase in prices in July. This behavior is due, according to the INE, to the fact that the prices of fruits and oils and fats have increased this month, while they fell in July 2022.
Specifically, the increase in fruit prices was +8.8% and, to a lesser extent, rose oils and fats (+3.4%) and fish and shellfish (+1.2%). It should be noted, although in the opposite direction, the drop in the prices of legumes and vegetables (-3.9%) at a monthly level.
In the interannual rate (July 2023 compared to the same month in 2022), the foods that have risen the most in price are sugar (+44.2%); oils and fats (+20.4%); milk (+17.7%); potatoes (+16.7%); pork meat (+15.8%); other food preparations (+13.6%); mineral water, soft drinks and juices (+13.4%), legume and vegetable preparations (+13%) and eggs (+12.8%).
But it doesn't end there, because many other foods registered double-digit year-on-year increases in their prices, such as dairy products (+11.8%); fresh fruits (+11.6%); cereals and derivatives (+11.2%) and other meats (+10.4%).
The fuel, more expensive and without discount
The INE ensures that the increase in transport is due to the rise in the prices of fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles, compared to the decrease in July 2022, because there are no discounts on gasoline.
And the price of gasoline and diesel continue unstoppable. Gasoline and diesel rose for the fifth consecutive week on average by 1.8% and 3.4%, respectively.
Going on vacation is more expensive
Spending on leisure and culture rose 7.2%, two points higher than the previous month. Statistical experts attribute it to the fact that spending the summer in 2023 has become more expensive than it did last year. But also, the tourist packages in July were 17% more expensive than the previous month.
What becomes cheaper: electricity, gas, clothing and footwear
On the opposite side of the scale, the only respite for the pocket in the month of July came from the decrease in the costs of the housing section, which decreased its variation by more than two points, to -14.9%. “This behavior is due to the drop in the prices of electricity and gas, compared to the increase recorded in July of last year,” as explained by the INE.
The other group with a negative monthly impact on the CPI was 'clothing and footwear', with a price drop of -9.7% in the monthly rate, due to the price drops in the summer sales campaign.