- Core inflation remains at 0.9%
- The average annual inflation of 2018 stands at 1.7%
January 15, 2019. The interannual rate of the general CPI was reduced by half a point in December 2018, standing at 1.2%, as the INE advanced at the end of last month, mainly due to the increase in price content energetic The average annual inflation of 2018 stands at 1.7%, lower by three tenths than in 2017.
The prices of energy products moderated their inter-annual growth rate by more than four points in December, up to 2.1%, due to the slowdown in fuel and lubricant prices, which practically stabilized (-0.1% year-on-year) after the 7.6% increase of the previous month.
The prices of unprocessed food increased 3.2% year-on-year, three tenths less than in November, highlighting the lower increase in prices of fresh vegetables (2.7%, almost four points less than in the previous month ), while those of fresh fruits accelerated almost a point and a half, to 5.9%.
Core inflation, which excludes the most volatile elements of the CPI (unprocessed food and energy products), stands at 0.9% year-on-year, as in November, due to the practical stability of its components. The prices of processed food, beverages and tobacco increased 0.5%, one tenth less than in the previous month, those for non-energy industrial goods rose 0.2%, one tenth more than in November and services They maintained an interannual rate of 1.5%.
The annual CPI rate decreases in all autonomous communities in December compared to November. The largest declines occur in Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura, with declines of eight and seven tenths, up to 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively. For its part, the Canary Islands is the community where the inflation rate has been reduced the least, two tenths to 1.4%.
The interannual rate of the CPI to constant taxes stood at 1.2% in December, as was the general CPI.
The INE has also published the harmonized CPI (CPI) for the month of December, whose annual rate is also reduced by half a point, up to 1.2%. The rate advanced by Eurostat for the euro area as a whole stands at 1.6% in that month, resulting in a favorable inflation differential to Spain of 0.4 percentage points.
The whole of 2018 has closed with an average annual inflation of 1.7%, lower by three tenths than in 2017, due to the lower growth in energy prices (6.1% compared to 8% in 2017) and, to a lesser extent, the moderation of service prices and non-energy industrial goods. Core inflation has been 0.9%, two tenths lower than the previous year. The IPCA also closed last year with an average annual rate of 1.7%, coinciding with that of the Eurozone.
