Consumer prices fall by 1.1%, an all-time low

Catalonia’s consumer price index (CPI) fell another six tenths in October to -1.1%, reaching an all-time low. The CPI has now been falling for seven month coinciding with the first wave of the pandemic in April.

However, it is the second least affected area in Spain by CPI variation according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

CPI represents how much people are paying for goods and services, and the monthly changes show us how these costs are varying. 

Certain prices went up such as food and non-alcoholic beverages, which grew to 2.5%. This is also true for clothes, footwear, tobacco and alcoholic beverages, as well as housing repairs.

Nonetheless, prices also fell across many sectors. Housing prices were most affected as they plunged to -3.6%. 

Transport, electricity, water, education and communication were also largely impacted and saw prices drop. There was a reduction in tax on gas and oil, which slightly lowered prices that had risen in 2019.

Annual tax varied across Catalonia. In Barcelona it decreased to -0.9%, whereas in Tarragona it declined to -1.2%. The largest fall was seen in Girona, which reached -1.7%.

The region which suffered the most in Spain was Extremadura which fell seven tenths to -0.6%. The Canary Islands was the only area whose tax did not fall.