Not surprising. Prices will never go down. The National Institute for Statistics (INE) confirmed that inflation rose by 3.1% in October, the highest level all year, according to firm data released this month. This cost is largely due to increases in electricity, international flights and rail transport, partially offset by reduced end-of-season tourism packages and fuel costs that recoup moderate increases in the price of oil barrels.
The INE also approved an increase in near-current inflation, which excludes the most volatile factors such as energy and fresh produce, to a maximum of 2.5%, one-tenth of September’s rate. Food is relatively stable, but an increase in fresh or chilled fruits, vegetables, and olive oil is supplemented by fallen and raw vegetables, bread, and dairy products.
INE had already postponed its October dates a few weeks ago. The decisive record confirms that the rise in prices has accelerated, resulting in a five-month high and price increases since June last year without touching similar quotas. Tensions are rising from various quarters. Since the outages, electricity prices have remained high compared to levels over the past year, services have been tighter than expected, and food inflation has not declined.
Paradoxically, a strong economy also leads to a cooling of the market. Driven by domestic demand and investment, activity increased at a sustained pace, increasing by 0.6% in the third quarter.
However, prices slowed in October in the eurozone, according to the latest provisional data released by the European statistics agency Eurostat. Inflation fell to 2.1%, one-tenth less than in September. The results will be published in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) reference table and online, assessing the type of bajada launched by the organization led by Christine Lagarde.