Spain inflation eases to 3.2%

Spain’s annual consumer inflation rate slowed to 3.2% in April from 3.4% in March, Spain’s National Statistics Institute said on May 14, confirming its earlier estimate. Core inflation, which strips out unprocessed food and energy, eased to 2.8% from 2.9%, while consumer prices rose 0.4% on the month. The April reading left Spanish inflation below the 3.4% rate recorded in March but above the 2.4% rate seen in January, according to INE data. The agency said the deceleration was linked mainly to electricity prices, which rose less than they did a year earlier, even as fuel and lubricants for private vehicles pushed in the opposite direction. (ine.es) ### Why did the annual rate edge lower in April? INE said on April 29, in its flash estimate, that the slowdown was driven principally by electricity. The agency said electricity prices increased in April, but by less than in April 2025, which lowered the annual comparison. Fuel costs moved the other way. INE said prices for fuel and lubricants for private vehicles rose in April, in contrast to declines in the same month a year earlier, limiting the drop in the headline rate. (ine.es) ### Which parts of the basket were moving most on the month? INE said clothing and footwear prices rose 6.0% in April from March as spring-summer items entered stores. (ine.es) The agency said that category made a 0.194 percentage-point contribution to the monthly CPI increase. Transport prices rose 0.9% on the month, INE said, reflecting higher prices for other services related to personal vehicles. (ine.es) That group contributed 0.148 percentage points to the monthly increase in the headline index. Restaurants and accommodation services also rose 1.2% in April, according mainly to higher accommodation prices, INE said. (ine.es) That category contributed 0.210 percentage points to the monthly CPI reading. ### How does Spain compare with the wider euro area? Eurostat said euro area annual inflation was 2.6% in March, up from 1.9% in February. (ine.es) Spain’s harmonised inflation rate was 3.4% in March, according to Eurostat’s March release, placing Spain above the euro area average that month. (ine.es) INE’s flash estimate for Spain’s harmonised index of consumer prices showed a 3.5% annual rate in April, with a 0.7% monthly increase. That harmonised measure is the one used for cross-country comparisons in the European Union. ### What does the core reading show? (ec.europa.eu) INE said core inflation eased to 2.8% in April from 2.9% in March. That left the core measure below the headline rate, indicating that energy-related components were still exerting more pressure on the overall figure than the underlying basket. That comparison is an inference from the published rates. (ine.es) The monthly rise in core prices was 0.8%, INE said, compared with 0.4% for the overall index. INE did not describe that gap in its brief release, but the figures show underlying prices still rising on a monthly basis even as the annual headline rate eased. That is also an inference from the published data. (ine.es) ### What comes next for the inflation data? Eurostat said its next euro area inflation release is scheduled for May 20. That publication will show the April harmonised inflation figures for the currency bloc and its member states, including Spain. INE has already posted the April 2026 CPI release in its latest data series and press materials. (ine.es) The agency’s CPI and HICP tables remain the primary source for the national and harmonised readings used by investors, policymakers and households tracking price changes. (ec.europa.eu)