Prices soar 6.7% in December driven by light
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.3% in December compared to the previous month and shot up its interannual rate to 6.7%, more than two points above the rate in November (5.5% ) and its highest level in 29 years, due to the rising cost of electricity and, to a lesser extent, food.
Energy prices drive inflation in the eurozone to a record 4.9% in November
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With the December data, the highest since March 1992, the interannual CPI chains its twelfth consecutive positive rate, according to advanced data published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
According to Statistics, in the interannual behavior of the CPI, the rise in electricity prices stands out, higher in December of this year than in the same month of 2020, and, to a lesser extent, of food, whose prices fell last year.
In contrast, the prices of fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles fell in December of this year, in contrast to the rise they experienced a year earlier.
In contrast, the INE highlights a decrease in electricity prices in November of this year compared to the same month last year.
The INE incorporates in the advance of CPI data an estimate of core inflation (excluding non-processed food and energy products), which increased four tenths in December, to 2.1%, which is almost five points below of the general CPI rate.
1.3% advance in the last month
In monthly terms, the CPI recorded its fifth consecutive rebound, rising 1.3% in December, one point above the rise recorded in November and its second largest monthly rise in at least two years after last month of October (+ 1.8%).
In the last month of 2021, the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HICP) placed its interannual rate at 6.7%, more than one point above the previous month. For its part, the leading indicator of the IPCA rose 1.2% in monthly rate.
The INE will publish the final CPI data for December on January 14.
