Inflation in Spain at the end of May steadies to 3.2% following drop in fuel prices

Inflation in Spain has eased to 3.2% in May, the lowest it has been in a year and a half.

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According to the figure from the national statistics institute (INE), it is the lowest rate since autumn in 2021, long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which sparked inflation to soar.

A drop in the price of fuel, which has fallen to levels before the conflict in Ukraine, has contributed to this month’s decrease in inflation. The price of electricity also remained stable in May at an average of 72 euros/MWh, a fall of 20% compared to April and almost half of what it cost a year ago.

Core inflation, which measures the cost of daily life excluding the most volatile products, such as energy and unprocessed food, is also starting to drop, standing at 6.1%, which is 0.5% less than the previous month.

But Spaniards will need to wait until the middle of the month to find out what the increase in the price of the shopping basket is, when the INE publishes the complete inflation data. Up to April, food prices increased by 12.9%, although in the first months of the year they rose by more than 16%.

Following on from the latest data, the government will have to decide in a month's time what to do with the measures put in place to combat the crisis; a reduction in IVA (Spain's sales tax) on certain foods, a rebate on fuel for hauliers, among others.