Alonso Soto, Bloomberg News
MADRID
EnergiesNet.com 03 01 2022
Spanish inflation accelerated well above expectations in February as soaring energy prices continue to weigh on consumers.
Consumer prices rose 7.5% in February from a year earlier, national statistics institute INE said Monday. That’s the highest level since records started in 1997 and beats all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The acceleration was driven by food, beverages, fuel and energy.
Soaring gas prices are behind the inflation spike in one of Europe’s most vulnerable countries to international energy swings as it imports most of fuel needs from abroad.
Spain’s Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera, who watches over energy policy, said last week the government will maintain tax breaks to help households as long as energy prices remain high. The Spanish government has so far forfeited over 7 billion euros in tax revenue.
Ribera and Economy Minister Nadia Calvino have proposed the EU take measures to decouple natural gas from electricity costs in its price-setting mechanism. Calvino said European authorities are warming up to their proposal to prevent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from pushing record electricity costs even higher.
bloomberg.com 02 28 2022
