By Joshua Kirby
Spanish consumer prices picked up pace again this month, an early sign that headline inflation across the wider eurozone might prove stickier than expected.
Prices were 3.4% higher on year in April, increasing from 3.3% a month earlier, Spanish state statistics agency INE said Monday. The numbers, harmonized to European Union standards, defy expectations for a slight downtick in inflation this month, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.
Spain is the first of the eurozone's major economies to report inflation figures for April, with the 20-nation bloc as a whole due to publish its own numbers Tuesday. Economists expect eurozone inflation to stay steady from a month earlier, but resurgent economic activity and a tougher comparison base for energy prices could lead to a slight acceleration in price rises across the currency union.
Spain's higher inflation in April was largely down to rising gas prices after a dip the same month last year, INE said. But food inflation also ticked higher, while electricity prices fell at a slower rate than in March, the agency said. Core inflation, stripping out food and energy prices, conversely fell to 2.9% from 3.3% in March, with prices in the leisure and culture sector decreasing from a year earlier.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-29-24 0319ET
