The CPI moderated its rise to 3.3% in March and food became more expensive by 16.5%

He Consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.4% in March from the previous month and lowered its interannual rate by 2.7 points to 3.3%, due to cheaper electricity and fuel and the fact that food, clothing and footwear prices rose less than in the same month of 2022, according to the final data published this Friday by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), which coincides with that of the end of last month.

This moderation in the CPI’s year-on-year growth rate places inflation at its lowest level since August 2021, which also recorded a rate of 3.3%, and means breaking two consecutive months of promotions that brought the CPI to 6% last February. The CPI’s year-on-year figure hadn’t fallen this much in a month since May 1977 (-2.7 points).

For its part, the Underlying inflation (excluding unprocessed food and energy products) fell by a tenth in March to 7.5%, 4.2 points above the general CPI and in its highest values ​​in more than 40 years.

The gap between core inflation and the overall figure is the widest since August 1986, when the INE began calculating the former.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs has stressed that underlying inflation fell in March for the first time since September last year, while highlighting that Spain remains one of the countries with the “lowest” inflation in the European Union.

Increase in the price of food

According to statistics, food prices rose by 16.5% year on year in March, one-tenth less than in February, when they rose by 16.6%, a record rate since 1994.

This behavior was influenced by the fact that prices of fish and shellfish, milk, cheese and eggs, and oils and fats rose less than in March last year. In contrast, the prices of legumes and vegetables and other foods increased more than in March 2022.

The department led by Nadia Calviño has pointed to the moderation of one-tenth of food prices and the “good behavior” of electricity prices thanks to the ‘Iberian exception’ and fuels.

In monthly terms (March over February), the CPI registered an increase of 0.4%, five tenths less than what it increased in February (+0.9%) and 2.6 points lower than what it did in March from 2022, when prices skyrocketed 3%.

Several factors influenced this monthly price increase, including food, which became 1.1% more expensive compared to February due to price increases in most components, especially legumes and vegetables, meat and other food products.