Spanish inflation jumps to 3.3% in March as Iran war drives up fuel costs

Spanish inflation rose sharply to 3.3% in March, up one percentage point from February, according to a preliminary estimate released on Friday by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE).

The increase – as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – was driven by higher fuel prices as a result of the impact of the war in the Middle East, which has pushed up oil prices.

In contrast, electricity prices were lower than a year earlier, helping to partially offset the rise in inflation.

Core inflation, which excludes more volatile items such as energy and unprocessed food, held steady at 2.7%, unchanged from the previous month.

Consumer prices rose 1% in March compared with February, six-tenths of a percentage point above the monthly increase in February.

The data published on Friday does not include a breakdown for autonomous communities.

The INE is expected to release final March figures in mid-April, when price trends in Catalonia will also be confirmed. In February, inflation in Catalonia stood at 2%.