Spanish inflation takes a dive as it falls to -1.2 per cent
In a world where deflation is becoming the norm, it was hardly expected that today's Spanish inflation figure would do much to shore up locals' optimism – but the figure has managed to surprise even the most pessimistic of analysts.
The country's figure for EU harmonised consumer price inflation dipped to -1.2 per cent in September, figures published today showed – way below expectations of -0.7 per cent, and a massive fall from the -0.5 per cent reported in August.
Consumer price inflation was -0.9 per cent, down from -0.4 per cent in August. The country's official statistics body, INE, attributed the fall to lower electricity and fuel prices.
It's a blow for an economy which has shown encouraging signs in recent months. Figures published in mid-September showed industrial production climbed 0.6 per cent in July, putting it 5.2 per cent higher than in the same month last year.