HIGHEST INFLATION IN NEARLY FOUR DECADES IN FRANCE AND SPAIN

Fri 29 July 2022:

Statistics released on Friday indicated that inflation in both France and Spain had reached its highest levels in almost 40 years.

According to a preliminary forecast released on Friday by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) for France will rise by 6.1 percent in July, marking the highest level since 1985.

The INSEE predicts that “the acceleration of service prices linked to the summer period, food prices and, to a lesser extent, manufactured good prices” will cause the CPI to increase.

The rise in prices is likely to continue for some time, according to the Le Figaro daily newspaper.

“In its latest economic report, at the end of June, INSEE indicated that it expected a continuous rise in prices, up to ‘a little less than 7 percent in September’ over one year,” Le Figaro reported.

The INSEE predicted an annual CPI rise of 5.5 percent, while the Banque de France, the central bank of France, expected inflation of 5.6 percent this year in its latest macroeconomic projections.

Spanish inflation reached its highest level in 38 years, as it rose to 10.8 percent in July, climbing from the June level of 10.2 percent, according to the preliminary data published by the Spanish Statistical Office (INE) on Friday.

Despite a drop in fuel prices, the continuing inflation resulted from increases in the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as rises in the price of clothing and footwear.

Spain’s core inflation rate, which excludes volatile costs like energy and food, accelerated its upward trend in July and topped 6.1 percent, a level not seen since January 1993.

According to INE’s preliminary data, Spain’s GDP increased by 1.1% in the second quarter of 2018.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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