- Core inflation, which excludes the most volatile elements of the CPI, stands at 1%
- The price of electricity slows sharply in October
The general CPI rate remained 2.3% year-on-year in October, the same rate as the one advanced by the INE at the end of last month. The stability of inflation is due to the fact that the slight increase in transport and leisure and culture, especially tourist packages, has been compensated by the downward evolution of the rest of the components, highlighting the slowdown in electricity prices.
Energy product prices increased 10.7% year-on-year in October, 1.3 points less than in September. This lower growth is mainly explained by electricity prices, which increased 3.8% year-on-year, almost ten points less than in September. This evolution was partially offset by the acceleration of gas prices, up to 10.8%, and fuels and lubricants, up to 13.2%.
The prices of unprocessed food rose 3.5% year-on-year in October, highlighting the slower rate of increase in fresh fruit prices, almost five points, to a rate of 7%.
Thus, core inflation, which excludes the most volatile elements of the CPI (unprocessed food and energy products), stands at 1% year-on-year.
Among the components of core inflation, the prices of processed food, beverages and tobacco increased by 1%, highlighting the stabilization of milk prices, compared to the fall of 1.1% in September.
The prices of non-energy industrial goods (BINE) practically stabilized in October, registering a year-on-year rate of 0.1%.
The prices of the third component of core inflation, services, accelerated slightly (three tenths), to 1.6%, highlighting the prices of tourist packages, which grew 1% (compared to the 4.7% drop from the previous month) and passenger air transport, whose prices fell at a rate of 1.4%. (-10% in September). In the opposite direction, the prices of telephone and fax services slowed down seven tenths, up to 3.9%
The annual CPI rate decreases in nine autonomous communities in October compared to September, remains in three and increases in the remaining five. The greatest declines in inflation occur in Aragon and La Rioja, with a decrease of two tenths in both.
On the other hand, Cantabria and Comunidad de Madrid are the communities where the annual rate is most increased, with increases of two tenths in each of them.
The interannual rate of the CPI to constant taxes stood at 2.3% in October, as was the general CPI.
The INE has also published the harmonized CPI (IPCA) for the month of October, whose annual rate is also maintained at 2.3%. On the other hand, the rate advanced by Eurostat for the whole of the euro zone is 2.2% in that month, resulting in a general inflation differential of 0.1 percentage points, one tenth less than in the previous month.
