Madrid (EFE).- Inflation eased to 3.3% year-on-year in March, 2.7 points below the February rate, due to the decline in electricity and fuel prices compared to the strong increases registered in March 2022 after the start of the Ukrainian war.
According to the data confirmed this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the consumer price index (CPI) thus marked the lowest rate in March since August 2021, while the underlying -without energy products or food unprocessed- only decreased by one tenth, to 7.5%.
The price of food rises 16.5% annually in March, one tenth less than February
The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 16.5% in March compared to the same month in 2022, one tenth below that of the previous month, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released this Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
In the monthly comparison, food prices rose 1.1% in March.
In annual terms, the rise in sugar (50.4%) and milk (30.4%) stands out, and there is no heading with decreases, while in the monthly comparison, the two foods that became more expensive were fresh legumes and vegetables (+5.7%) and pork (+4.5%) while sheep meat (-0.4%) and fresh fruit (-0.2%) registered decreases.
Inflation, increased by the war in Ukraine, prompted the Government to eliminate VAT on certain basic foods and lower it from 10 to 5% on pasta and oil since January 1.
The annual variation rate of the general CPI for the month of March stands at 3.3%, more than two and a half points below that registered in February, while the monthly variation is 0.4%.