June 30, 2014

According to preliminary data for July, consumer prices rose 0.1% over the previous month, which contrasted the 0.1% drop recorded in the month prior. The increase was driven by higher prices for transport. Annual inflation fell from 0.5% in May to 0.3% in June, thus meeting market expectations and reaching the lowest rate since September 2009.



Core consumer prices, which exclude more volatile categories such as unprocessed food and energy, rose 0.1% over the previous month in June, which contrasted the 0.2% decrease tallied in May. Annual core inflation inched down from 0.8% in May to a record low of 0.7% in June. Finally, annual HICP inflation averaged 0.7% in June, which was slightly down from the 0.8% recorded in May and also marked a record low.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 0.7% in 2014, which is down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month’s projection. For 2015, panelists expect inflation to average 1.1%.