Catalonia ended 2012 with a 3.6% inflation rate due to an increase in the price of drugs, university fees and fuel
Combined with the salary reductions and the taxation increase, the rise in inflation means that Catalans have lost purchasing power. The spending of the average Catalan family increased by some 110 euros per month compared to 2011 in order to buy the same amount of goods and services, while the net revenue decreased. In the whole of Spain, the inflation rate for the last 12 months was 2.9%, affected by the VAT increase approved by the Spanish Government. In Catalonia, it was higher due to fees adopted by the Catalan Government in order to reduce the public deficit: namely those affecting drug prescriptions and university education.