Inflation moderates to 2% at the start of the year in Catalonia
The drop in prices in January is mainly explained by the cost of energy
BarcelonaPrices in Catalonia began the year following the downward trend, with year-on-year inflation reaching 2% in January, four-tenths of a percentage point lower than the previous month, according to data published this Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The decrease is mainly explained by the evolution of energy prices and consolidates the slowdown that began in recent months. This also places it three-tenths of a percentage point below the national average (2.3%), and for the eleventh consecutive month, the cost of living has risen less in Catalonia than in Spain as a whole. The Principality was the sixth autonomous community with the smallest increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI, the indicator that measures the evolution of the cost of living), after La Rioja, Murcia, Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha, and Asturias, where the rate fell by a further tenth of a percentage point to 1.9%. In Catalonia, the product groups that saw the largest price increases in January compared to the same month of the previous year were insurance and financial services (5.9%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.5%), followed by restaurants and accommodation services (3.7%). Meanwhile, the transport (-0.6%) and clothing and footwear (-0.7%) groups registered decreases. Nationwide, year-on-year inflation stood at 2.3% in January, six tenths of a percentage point lower than the previous month's figure and one tenth of a percentage point lower than the initial estimate from the National Statistics Institute (INE). This is the largest decrease since March of last year and is mainly explained by the moderation of energy prices. The final figure published this Friday thus reaffirms the trend of price moderation observed in recent months. With this result, inflation continues to approach the European Central Bank's (ECB) target of around 2%. The Ministry of Economy highlighted that, for the whole of 2025, aggregate household purchasing power increased by 1.5% thanks to wage increases that outpaced average inflation for the year.
Food Prices
As for core inflation—which excludes energy and fresh food prices due to their greater volatility—this indicator remains stable at 2.6% for the third consecutive month. Regarding food, prices rose by 3% at the beginning of the year, with notable increases in products such as eggs (30.7%) and beef (16.3%).
