Spain's consumer price inflation saw an uptick towards the year's end, primarily driven by rising fuel costs, according to preliminary data released by the INE (National Statistics Institute) on Monday.
December's consumer price inflation climbed higher than anticipated, reaching 2.8 percent, up from November's 2.4 percent. This rate hasn't been seen since July, comparable to the previous high. Analysts had predicted a smaller increase, expecting a rise to 2.6 percent.
Similarly, the EU harmonized inflation rate also increased to 2.8 percent from 2.4 percent, again marking the highest level since last July's 2.9 percent. Economists had anticipated an annual increase of 2.6 percent.
The statistical authority attributed much of the annual inflation surge to a rise in fuel costs, a notable contrast to December 2023's decline.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as fuel, advanced to 2.6 percent compared to 2.4 percent in the previous month.
On a month-to-month basis, consumer price inflation accelerated to 0.4 percent, doubling from November's 0.2 percent. This was marginally above the predicted growth rate of 0.3 percent.
In a similar vein, the harmonized index climbed by 0.4 percent in December, following a stagnant previous month. Expectations had placed this figure at a 0.3 percent increase.
