Inflation rises three tenths in January to 3.4%, according to data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) confirmed today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), after inflation closed 2023 at 3.1 %. The CPI registered positive annual rates in all the autonomous communities. The Canary Islands presented the highest (4.0%) and the Community of Madrid the lowest (2.7%).
The data, released on January 30, indicates that 2024 began with a year-on-year increase of 3.4%, three tenths more than in December. This is the first increase in the CPI after two consecutive months, moderating from the 3.5% reached in October.
The data reflects the rise in electricity prices compared to the drop they experienced in January 2023. The indicator, on the other hand, is pulling down the indicator, whose prices are now falling when they rose in January 2023. In rate monthly, prices rise 0.1% in January compared to December.
The underlying CPI, which does not take into account the more volatile evolution of the prices of unprocessed food and energy products, instead falls two tenths to 3.6%, which represents the lowest rate since March 2022 and leaves the differential with the general indicator in only two tenths. The Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HICP), which is used to compile international statistics, mainly Eurostat, placed its annual rate at 3.5%, two tenths more than in January.
Without taking into account the reductions and variations in taxes, the interannual CPI reached 3.2% in January, two tenths below the general rate of 3.4%. This is reflected in the CPI at constant taxes that the INE also publishes within the framework of this statistic.
The CPI at constant taxes was not below the general index since June 2021 and was not two tenths lower than the general CPI since August 2013.
January is the first data offered by the INE with the update of the new weights of the headings that make up the index. In the new structure, the groups that gain the most weight are leisure and culture, hotels and restaurants, transportation and communications, and those that lose the most are housing, household goods and food.
The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 7.4% year-on-year in January, one tenth more than in December, while the housing group shot up its annual rate by 7.4 points, to 1.5%, due to the rise in electricity prices, in contrast to the decrease they experienced in January 2023.
The group of consumer prices that pushed the general indicator up the most was housing (the expenses associated with housing, not the price of the house itself), whose main component is the electricity bill. “This group increased its weight in the indicator by 7.4 points, up to 1.5% due to the increase in electricity prices, compared to the decrease in January of last year,” details the INE.
For their part, transportation is pulling prices down, due to the decrease in the prices of fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles, which increased in the same month of 2023, and communications, as telephone rates rose less in January 204 compared to the same month a year ago.
Compared to a year ago, what has increased the most in the shopping basket are oils and fats (43.2%), especially olive oil (62.9%), which accumulates a rise of 176, 5% since January 2021. Oils are followed by fresh legumes and vegetables (15.6%); ; fresh fruits (13.7%); and pork (12.4%).
In January, the year-on-year price increases for maritime passenger transport also stood out (23.7%); fruit and vegetable juices (21.6%); national tourist packages (20.1%), and subscription fees (16.8%).
On the other hand, what became cheaper in the first month of the year compared to January 2023 were other oils (-25.3%); natural gas (-19.7%); combined passenger transport (-18.9%); butane and propane (-14.4%), and liquid fuels (-13.1%).
Compared to December, the products that drove up prices the most were, once again, housing (electricity bills), which increased by 3.3%, and food and non-alcoholic beverages, which increased by 0.5%. intermonthly, especially due to the increase in the price of fish and seafood, legumes and vegetables and oils and fats.
In percentage of prices, what increased the most in price in the month of January compared to the previous month was electricity (9.4%), followed by natural gas (8%) and fresh fish (5.4%). Olive oil became more expensive by 4.1% in January compared to the previous month.
On the other hand, clothing and footwear, which fell by 10.7% in the indicator due to the effect of winter sales, and leisure and culture, which became cheaper by 2.1% due to the effect of the winter sales, dropped the indicator. tourist packages. Taking into account the percentage variation in prices, what became cheaper in January compared to December were other clothing items (-13.8%) and national tourist packages (-12.2%).
By territory, prices rise in all autonomous communities and cities, especially in the Canary Islands (4%), Galicia and Andalusia (3.8%), Castilla-La Mancha and Cantabria (3.7%). Also above the General CPI measure (3.6%) are Ceuta, Murcia and the Valencian Community; Melilla, La Rioja and the Basque Country (3.5%); Castilla y León and the Balearic Islands (3.4%).
Below the average are Catalonia (3.3%), Asturias (3.2%), Aragon (3.1%), Extremadura (3%), Navarra (2.9%) and finally, Madrid, where the less prices rise (2.7%).
