Prices start the year with a 3% rise in Catalonia
INE confirms that inflation started in 2025 with an increase of 2.9% in the State as a whole
BarcelonaThe cost of living has picked up at the start of the year in Catalonia, mainly due to the rise in fuel prices, according to data confirmed this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The consumer price index (CPI, the indicator that measures the evolution of inflation) stood at 3% during the month of January, compared to the same month in 2024. This represents an increase of one tenth compared to December.
After several months of decline, food and drink prices in Catalonia have rebounded to 2.2% year-on-year, with an increase of eight tenths compared to December. Even so, products that had skyrocketed in recent times continue to decline, such as oils and fats, now 12.8% cheaper than a year ago. This category also fell by 3.4% compared to the previous month. However, there are foods that continue to rise in price in Catalonia, such as sheep meat (+11.4%) or beef (+7.9%). As for housing and supplies, the increase compared to January 2024 has been 7.4%; and the monthly variation, 3.4%.
Four months of promotions
In the State as a whole, inflation started in 2025 with an increase of 2.9%, one tenth above the figure recorded in the previous month, but one tenth less than estimated by the INE in the advanced statistics. In this way, the Catalan figure is one tenth above the Spanish average. With this advance, inflation has chained four consecutive months of increases and reaches its highest value since June, when it stood at 3.4%.
According to the organization, this rise is explained above all by the rise in the cost of transport, which increased the annual rate by seven tenths to 1.3%, due to the rise in fuel prices compared to January 2024. The variation in the price of housing was also noted, due to the cost of electricity. In this sense, it should be remembered that as of January 1 of this year, VAT on electricity has returned to 21%, compared to the 10% rate that had been applied until December 31, 2024.
The Ministry of Economy has stressed in a statement that food inflation remained at 1.8% this January, more than one point below general inflation. "The drop in the price of olive oil, 21.9% in the last year, is especially relevant in this good performance," insisted the department headed by Carlos Cuerpo.