Spain: Harmonized inflation falls in February
Harmonized inflation fell to 2.9% in February from 3.5% in January, marking the lowest reading in six months. February’s deceleration was mainly due to a softer increase in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages and a decline in prices for housing and utilities.
The trend declined, with annual average harmonized inflation coming in at 3.0% in February (January: 3.2%). Meanwhile, core inflation fell to 3.5% in February from 3.6% in January, marking the lowest rate since March 2022.
Lastly, harmonized consumer prices rose 0.39% in February over the previous month, swinging from January’s 0.20% dip.
Commenting on the outlook, ING’s Wouter Thierie stated:
“We expect inflation to continue hovering around 3% this year. […] Continued high service inflation poses an upside risk to our inflation forecast. On top of that, the unwinding of government measures to moderate high energy prices may also put upward pressure on inflation. Both factors will prevent inflation from returning to the ECB’s 2% target this year.”