INFALTION IN ASTURIAS | Inflation rises five tenths in Asturias, up to 2.1%, but it is the sixth community with the lowest cost

2023-08-11 10:20:23

Inflation increased in Asturias five tenths in July (one more than what happened in the country as a whole), but even so, it stood at 2.1% in the interannual rate, two tenths below the Spanish average. Asturias is the sixth least inflationary community, tied with Galicia, Extremadura and La Rioja, and only above Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, and Madrid. The highest cost of living occurs in the Canary Islands (3.6%, despite having fallen three tenths compared to the rate in June) and the Balearic Islands (3%, after rising four tenths), in addition to Melilla (4.1%) and Ceuta (4.3%).

In Asturias, the main increases are provided by tourist packages (26.8%), social protection services (12.5%), food (10.4%, four tenths less than in the country as a whole), accommodation services (10.2%), upkeep and maintenance of the home (8.4%) and non-alcoholic beverages (7.3%). The greatest decreases have been registered in electricity, gas and other fuels (-33.8%), transport services (-11.1%) and telephone equipment (-6.8%).

The final data on the growth last month of the consumer price index (CPI) in Spain (2.3% compared to July 2022), released this morning by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), confirms the estimate that had been advanced last day 28. The main causes are fuels, whose price has been recovering for two months; the tourist packages (16% more expensive), the lower discounts than last year in the sales campaign of the trade (clothing and footwear have become cheaper but less than twelve months ago) and especially food, which is more expensive by 5 tenths after four months in decline and stood at 10.8% in the interannual rate. Fruit has been a determining factor in the greatest food shortage, followed by oils –the prices of both products are heavily penalized by the extreme drought –l and also fish and shellfish, while legumes and vegetables have become cheaper.

Subjacent or basic inflation (which does not include energy and fresh food due to more volatile prices) also increased three tenths and reached 6.2%, thus almost tripling the general index.

Despite this rise in the CPI, Spain continues to be one of the four countries with the lowest inflation in the euro area, both according to the generated and the underlying index. In this second case, it is so if the same underlying inflation criterion is used: the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) excludes all foods from its calculation, while the INE only exempts fresh foods.