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The winter season in the clothing and footwear industry, as well as an increase in the price of electricity, led to a 0.3% increase in the price index during November in comparison to the previous month and brought the annual inflation rate in November in Catalonia to 1%. This is the highest annual rate recorded in Catalonia since August 2013, when the figure reached 1.7%. However, the evolution of annual inflation, in minimum rates, is still being restrained by fuel prices, which fell in November, in comparison to the stability that was recorded during the same month last year. According to data released this Tuesday by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), the annual inflation rate in Catalonia is the highest in Spain, followed by Navarra (0.9%), Asturias (0.8%) and the Canary Islands (0.8%).

In August, Catalan exports increased by 13.8% over the same period in 2015, reaching €4.5188 billion and setting a new record as the 'best August’ ever registered (since the collection of data began). According to figures published this Thursday by the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness, Catalonia’s exports of goods abroad accounted for 25.6% of the total sales in Spain. The increase of Catalan exports was higher than the EU average (+12%) and well above that of countries such as France (+2.3%) and the UK (+1.2%). However, this increase was lower than that of countries such as Germany (+14.2%) and Italy (+29.4%). Spanish exports also rose (by 8.9%), totalling €17.646 billion.

Barcelona’s Port registered an 8% growth in container traffic this March in comparison to the same period last year, reaching 493,000 TEUs (one TEU = one 20ft container). Both exports and imports saw a growth of more than 5%, along with an increase in container cargo coastal trade. All in all, 11.1 million tons of merchandise were registered from January to March of 2016. This is also represented by an increase both in liquid and solid merchandise in bulk. Meanwhile, the Barcelona El Prat airport experienced a rise in passengers in the first trimester of 2016, marking 16.1% more than the same period of the previous year, at a total of 8.5 million people. Along with this, both the Girona-Costa Brava airport and Reus airport, located in the Girona and Tarragona provinces respectively, witnessed an augmentation in traffic in the month of March. 

20.4% more passengers used Barcelona El Prat Airport’s facilities this past February than in the same month last year. According to data released by the European airport trade association (ACI Europe), Barcelona’s airport leads the ranking of EU airports in terms of growth and tops group 1, which includes those airports with more than 25 million passengers per year. Dublin holds second position, with a registered growth of 17.2% in February, followed by Copenhagen (+16%) and Madrid Barajas (+15.5%). Regarding those European airports which are not within the EU, Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen is the only airport whose increase in the number of passengers surpassed that of Barcelona (24.3%). The increase in the number of passengers using El Prat is double the average growth registered for February in the EU overall, which was 10.3%. 

39.7 million passengers used Barcelona’s El Prat Airport facilities this 2015, 5.7% more than last year. This figure sets a new record for El Prat, which is the second busiest airport in Spain, only beaten by Madrid Barajas. December was also a historic month, with 2,604,772 passengers whom passed through El Prat. The highest figure was registered in August 2015, were nearly 4.4 million passengers used El Prat Airport’s facilities. The passenger group which grew the most was international travellers, especially the Latin American market, which registered a 21.7% increase in comparison to last year. Regarding the number of operations registered, there were 288.878 take-offs and landings in 2015, which represents 1.8% more than in 2014. 

Catalan exports were worth more than 15,500 million euros in the third quarter, representing a record 5% increase over the same period last year. From January to September, the amount of sales abroad by Catalan companies was worth 47,567 million euros, 6.29% more than in the same period last year. The leading sector in terms of exports during the first nine months of the year was the chemical sector, which was worth 12,662 million euros and increased by 6.1% compared to the same period last year. Capital goods came second in the ranking, totalling 8,015 million euros. However, the sector which grew the most was the automobile industry, increasing by 16% in comparison to the first nine months of 2014. In Spain as a whole, exports grew by 4.4% from January to September and also set a historic figure.

On Wednesday the Catalan Parliament passed two important bills. With 74% support, it has approved the Law of External Action and Relations with the EU. Only two parties voted against it, the Spanish nationalist People’s Party (PP) – which runs the Spanish Government – and Ciutadans (C’s). A third party, the alternative left and radical independence party CUP, abstained because it considered that the law was not “ambitious enough”. All the rest supported the bill, which mainly puts in order the existing bodies and mechanisms, although it also creates some new ones, in line with the Catalan Government’s powers in this area, recognized by the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. The other bill is the tax on Internet suppliers, which aims to fund the Catalan audiovisual sector, affected by Internet piracy. No party voted against it. The new tax aims to collect some €20.5 million per year and it is welcomed by the cinema industry, and rejected by the main Internet suppliers.

During the Congress of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in New York, the managers of the Bescanó Theatre (Northern Catalonia) will discuss their peculiar protest against the Spanish Government’s VAT increase on cultural products from 8% to 21%. In November 2012, instead of selling traditional tickets at a higher price or lowering their profit margin, the Bescanó Theatre managers decided to sell carrots to their audience, due to the lower VAT on fresh food. Spectators bought carrots for a price equal to the usual entrance fee and were gifted a theatre ticket in exchange. This ‘carrot rebellion’ as well as the “devastating” consequences of the VAT increase on the performing arts in Spain will be addressed on the 15^th of January.

The Cercle d’Economia, the main Catalan economic forum open to businesspeople and academics, has published an opinion note on the political context following the last Catalan elections. In the note, the Cercle asks the Spanish Government “to talk” about the Catalan self-determination and “to reform” the Constitution accordingly. The Cercle does not explicitly back an independent Catalonia but it supports a deep reform of Spain’s territorial organisation and the finding of a negotiated solution for both parties, which may be reached through a legal referendum. In addition, the Cercle asks for a review of Spain’s internal distribution of the deficit targets among government levels and to increase those of the Autonomous Communities.

The Minister of Culture, Ferran Mascarell, met in Parliament with representatives from the Catalan cultural sector. In the meeting they discussed how unpopular the new VAT increase is within the cultural sector in Catalonia. Mascarell sent a letter to Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro and Spanish Culture Minister, José Ignacio Wert representing the cultural sector on this issue. The president of the Employers Association of Catalan Cinema, Camilo Tarrazón, said after the meeting "Spain will be the only state to have culture as a luxury good".

The Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, announced that the Central Government might heavily fine the governments of Autonomous Communities that do not meet the deficit objective. Montoro, from the People’s Party (PP), met with the regional governments run by his party to prepare a common position on the issue. On the same day, the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) gave its support to the Spanish’s Government decree to cut public spending and increase taxes, announced at the end of December.

Within the last 5 years, Barcelona?s El Prat Airport has seen the number of intercontinental passengers grow about 70%. In addition, the number of flights and destinations within other continents have increased.