Inflation in November stood at 2.6%, same as previous month

Catalan inflation stood at 2.6% in November, the same as the previous month, as announced on Friday by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE).

The figure, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has remained steady for the third consecutive month and is 0.2 percentage points higher than in August.

Electricity prices saw their smallest increase since June, while the cost of eggs continues to soar, up 20% on last year.

Meanwhile, Spain's inflation stood at 3%, just 0.1 percentage points lower than in October, confirming the preliminary data released in late November.

The annual core inflation rate, which excludes the most volatile components, rose by a tenth of a point to 2.6%.

Electricity contained, egg prices continue to soar

Electricity has helped keep overall prices in check in both Catalonia and Spain. In November, the cost of electricity, gas, and other fuels rose 8% compared with the same month last year, down from an 11.9% increase in October. In fact, this was the smallest rise in Catalonia since June.

The trend was similar across Spain, where these products increased 5.7% in November, nearly two percentage points lower than October

Another notable slowdown was transport services, which rose 1.5% – five points less than October. Coffee increased 14.4%, two points below October's rate.

However, other items in the shopping basket are moving in the opposite direction, climbing sharply.

Eggs, for example, rose 20.8% year-on-year in November, five points higher than the previous month. This is the second-highest increase in twenty years, only surpassed by December 2022's 21.3% rise.

Sugar also stands out. While its prices have been falling year-on-year for the past year, the decline was less pronounced in November, dropping 10.4% – eight points less than the previous month.

Pensions

The figures confirmed that next year's pensions will rise 2.7%, based on the consumer price index from last December to this November.

This translates to an average annual rise of around €570 for retirement pensions.

The increase will affect 9.4 million people receiving 10.4 million pensions, adding just under €500 a year to the average payment, when including retirement, disability, widowhood, orphanhood, and family-support benefits.