- Core inflation, which excludes the most volatile elements of the CPI, declined one tenth and stands at 0.9%
- In inter-monthly terms, the CPI registered a 0.7% drop in July
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated one tenth in July 2018, up to 2.2% year-on-year, according to figures published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the same rate as the one advanced by the INE. This evolution is explained by the slowdown in food prices and, to a lesser extent, in services. Core inflation, which excludes the most volatile elements of the CPI, decreased one tenth, to 0.9%. In inter-monthly terms, the CPI registered a 0.7% drop in July 2018, as in the same month of 2017.
The prices of energy products increased 11.2% year-on-year in July, 1.3 points more than in June, mainly due to the acceleration of electricity prices, from 2.7 points, to 8, 1%, and, to a lesser extent, the increase in the price of gas, of 1.4%, after the fall of 1.6% in the previous month.
Food inflation in July stood at 1.9%, a rate lower by six tenths than the previous month. The prices of unprocessed food increased by 4%, almost a point and a half less than in the previous month, mainly due to the four-point slowdown in prices of fresh vegetables. The prices of processed food, beverages and tobacco slowed down two tenths, up to 0.8% year-on-year, highlighting in this evolution olive oil, whose prices intensified five points its rate of fall, up to 7.2%.
Core inflation (which excludes unprocessed food and energy products, more volatile elements of the CPI) also moderated slightly in July, one tenth, to 0.9%. This reduction was mainly due to services, whose prices slowed down one tenth, up to 1.5%, to which mainly the tourist packages, whose prices fell 2.4% year-on-year in July, after the rise of 3, 7% of the previous month. On the other hand, the prices of non-energy industrial goods (BINE) stabilized, after the 0.1% fall of the previous month.
In inter-monthly terms, the CPI registered a 0.7% drop in July 2018, as in the same month of 2017, with a decrease of 3.7% in BINE prices (as in July 2017 ) and 0.6% of food (zero variation one year earlier), while those of energy increased 0.7% (-0.6% in July 2017) and those of services 0, 6% (0.7% in July last year). Within the food group, prices of unprocessed foods fell 1.7% inter-monthly (-0.4% in the same period of the previous year) and those of processed 0.1%, after the increase of 0 , 1% in July 2017.
The interannual rate of the CPI increased in July in five autonomous communities, highlighting the rise of two tenths in Asturias (2.4%) and La Rioja (2.3%), remained at seven and decreased in the remaining five, highlighting the fall of two tenths in Balearic Islands (2%) and Canary Islands (1.6%)
The interannual rate of the CPI to constant taxes stood at 2.3% in July, one tenth higher than that recorded by the general CPI.
The INE has also published the harmonized CPI (CPI) corresponding to the month of July, whose interannual rate stands at 2.3%, as in June. For its part, the rate advanced by Eurostat for the whole euro zone in July is 2.1%.
