Inflation continued its downward trend, falling to 7.5% in February, its lowest level since April 2022.
This fall in inflation is due to a slowdown in the rate of price increases between February and January this year compared with the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute (INS) said on Tuesday.
In February 2024, food prices rose by 10.2% year-on-year. This increase was mainly due to a 35% rise in the price of coffee powder, a 22.5% rise in the price of sheepmeat, a 21.8% rise in edible oils, an 18.5% rise in spices, a 15.2% rise in the price of fresh vegetables, a 12.2% rise in the price of beef and an 11.7% rise in the price of fresh fish.
Industrial goods rose by 7.4%, driven by a 4.7% increase in the price of construction materials, a 10% rise in the price of clothing and a 9.7% increase in the price of household goods.
Services prices went up by 5.4% year-on-year, mainly due to a 10.4% increase in restaurants, cafés and hotels, a 13.8% increase in financial services and a 9.1% increase in health services.
Core inflation (excluding food and energy) rose to 7% in February from 6.8% in the previous month.
In fact, the prices of unregulated products rose by 8.4% year-on-year. Prices of regulated products went up by 4.4%, while prices of unregulated products increased by 11.2%, compared with 3.6% for regulated food.
