Spain’s manufacturing costs rise 2.3% in 2024 from a decline in 2023

(Reuters) – Power prices lifted Spanish manufacturing costs in 2024 following a contraction within the earlier yr, the Nationwide Statistics Institute (INE) stated on Friday.

Manufacturing costs rose 2.3% final yr after a 6.3% decline within the earlier yr, when vitality costs fell from a peak in 2022 prompted by the conflict in Ukraine, INE stated in its month-to-month report.

Costs of oil, gasoline and electrical energy rose 7.5% in Spain in 2024 after contracting by 20.6% in 2023, INE stated.

Following turmoil on vitality markets in 2021 and 2022 brought on by the COVID pandemic after which the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, industrial worth progress in Spain peaked at 47% in March 2022. Corporations are likely to cross on industrial worth rises to prospects, in the end fuelling inflation.

Spain’s annual inflation price has picked up in current months, reaching 2.8% in December after having eased to 1.5% in September.

Industrial costs rose 0.9% in December from November and INE revised up the year-on-year November worth enhance to 1.2% from an preliminary 0.9% enhance.