The CPI drops to 3.2% in November and food prices moderate their growth to 9%

Olive oil skyrocketed in price by 66.7% in the last year and rice is 17% more expensive

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.3% in November compared to the previous month and cut its interannual rate by three tenths, to 3.2%, due to the lower prices of fuel, tourist packages and food. , which moderated their growth by half a point, to 9%.

This evolution in food is due, according to Statistics, to the drop in the prices of bread and cereals and of milk, eggs and cheese, and to the fact that meat prices rose less in November of this year than they did. in the same month of 2022.

On the other hand, legumes and vegetables rose in price in the penultimate month of the year, according to the final CPI data published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which confirms the advances at the end of last month and Also the increase that contributory pensions will experience in 2024, of 3.8%, as a result of the average inflation until November.

With the moderation of its interannual rate in November, inflation is once again registering declines after having remained anchored at 3.5% for the last two months and falls to its lowest level since last August, when it stood at 2.6%.

Core inflation (without unprocessed food or energy products) fell seven tenths in November, to 4.5%, a rate 1.3 points higher than the general CPI and the lowest since April 2022, when it stood at 4.4%.

The Ministry of Economy has underlined in a statement that, "thanks to the policy measures adopted by the Government, general inflation maintains its downward path throughout the year, allowing salaries to continue gaining purchasing power and Spanish companies a greater competitiveness, increasing its market share, even in the complex international context".

THE PRICE OF OLIVE OIL SHOOTS BY 66.7% IN THE LAST YEAR

Of the 199 CPI product subclasses, 169 have increased their prices year-on-year, 26 have decreased their prices and four have not registered a variation.

In an interannual rate (November 2023 compared to the same month in 2022), what has increased the most in price is olive oil (66.7%); national tourist packages (21.4%); rice (17.1%); legumes and vegetables (16.8%) and confectionery products (16.6%).

Olive oil has become more expensive by 4.7% in November of this year compared to the month of October, 53.8% in the first eleven months of 2023 and 164.1% since February 2021.

Other foods also registered double-digit year-on-year increases in their prices in November, such as pork (12.9%); other food preparations (10.2%); fresh fruits (10.1%) and sheep meat (10%).

On the other hand, what became cheaper in the penultimate month of the year in relation to November 2022 were other oils (-29.1%); butane and propane (-22.9%); natural gas (-19.7%); liquid fuels (-16.5%), and combined passenger transport (-15.4%).

Without taking into account the reduction in the special tax on electricity and the variations on other taxes, the interannual CPI reached 3.5% in November, three tenths above the general rate of 3.2%. This is reflected in the CPI at constant taxes that the INE also publishes within the framework of this statistic.

By groups, the transportation group cut its interannual rate by almost 1.5 points in November, to 0.0%, due to cheaper fuel, while the leisure and culture group also lowered its rate by almost 1.5 points, up to 2.5%, due to the lower cost of tourist packages.

On the side of increases, the housing group raised its annual rate two points, to -5.7%, due to the fact that electricity prices fell less in November of this year than in the same month of 2022.

THE CPI FALLS BY 0.3% IN THE MONTH

In monthly terms (November over October), the CPI registered a decrease of 0.3%, its largest monthly drop since September 2022. With this decline, inflation puts an end to five consecutive months of monthly increases.

The monthly decrease in the CPI in November was a consequence of the 1.5% reduction in transportation costs due to the lower cost of fuel, as well as housing, leisure and hotels due to lower prices for electricity, tourist packages and accommodation services, respectively.

What rose the most in price in the month of November compared to the previous month were women's clothing (5.1%) and olive oil (4.7%), while what fell the most were hotels, hostels and pensions (-12.7%).

In the penultimate month of 2023, the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (IPCA) placed its interannual rate at 3.3%, two tenths above the rate registered the previous month. For its part, the monthly variation of the IPCA was -0.5%.

THE INTERANUAL CPI IS MODERATED IN 13 COMMUNITIES

The annual CPI rate moderated last November in 13 autonomous communities, especially in Murcia, Cantabria and the Canary Islands, with a decrease of half a point in the three regions.

On the other hand, inflation remained stable in Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja and the Valencian Community and only rose in Aragón, with an increase of two tenths.

At the end of November, four communities had an interannual CPI rate of less than 3%: Aragón and Extremadura, with 2.7% in both cases; Castilla y León (2.8%) and Asturias (2.9%).

In contrast, the highest CPI rates were recorded in the Canary Islands (3.8%) and the Balearic Islands (3.6%), along with the autonomous cities of Melilla (4.1%) and Ceuta (3.7%).