For the Secretary of State for Commerce, Xiana Méndez, "the data confirms that price competitiveness continues to gain compared to the rest of the world, thanks to the moderation of prices in Spain. The depreciation of the euro has added to the effect of that moderation, thus strengthening competitiveness gains. "
The ITC calculated with the Consumer Price Index – whose reductions reflect competitiveness gains – decreased 0.8% compared to the EU-28 (euro zone countries and the rest), maintaining the trend change initiated the previous quarter. The competitiveness gain is due to the decline in the price index, which was higher than the appreciation of the euro against the currencies of those EU countries that do not belong to the euro zone.
The latest ITC data calculated with other price or cost indices are referred to the second quarter and confirm the competitiveness gains. Compared with the OECD countries, the ITC decreased 2.6% year-on-year in the third quarter, and 5.1% compared to the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
The ITC measured with Unit Value Indices (IVUs) improved against the EU-28 as a whole (-1.1%) due to the reduction in the relative price index and compared to OECD countries (-1.1%) , for the depreciation of the euro against the basket of currencies in the area.
The ITC calculated with Unitary Labor Costs (CLUs) compared to the EU-28 decreased by 0.3%, consolidating the trend of improvement recorded in recent quarters. The cause was the behavior of the unit labor cost index, which decreased 0.5%, compared to the exchange rate index, which grew 0.2%.