The Canary Islands experienced a 0.1% decrease in prices in January 2025, bringing the region’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) down to 2.1%, the lowest in the country, according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
In contrast, national inflation increased by 0.2% in January, pushing the year-on-year rate up to 2.9%, its highest level since June 2024, when it stood at 3.4%.
Factors Driving Inflation in Spain
The rise in national inflation is primarily attributed to higher fuel and electricity prices, which increased more sharply this January compared to the same period last year. Key sectoral increases include:
- Transport: Up 1.3% year-on-year, driven by rising fuel and lubricant costs.
- Housing: Increased by 7.9%, largely due to higher electricity prices, following the return of VAT on electricity to 21% from 1 January 2025 (up from 10%).
Conversely, the leisure and culture sector saw a 1.3 percentage point drop, with package holiday prices falling more than in January 2024.
Despite the rise in overall inflation, food price growth remained moderate at 1.8%, with the cost of olive oil dropping by 21.9% over the past year—its sharpest decline since July 2007.
Breakdown of the Most Significant Price Changes
Biggest Price Increases (Jan 2025 vs Jan 2024)
- Chocolate: +24.9%
- Maritime passenger transport: +21.7%
- Jewellery and accessories: +20.7%
- Electricity: +20.5%
- Other oils: +12.4%
Biggest Price Decreases
- Olive oil: -21.9% (its price has risen 116% since January 2021)
- Rail passenger transport: -20.6% (due to government subsidies)
- Sugar: -14.9%
- Mobile phones: -10.4%
- Personal computers: -7.7%
A Historic Monthly CPI Increase
In monthly terms (January vs December 2024), Spain recorded a 0.2% rise in inflation, marking the largest January increase in 25 years. This follows four consecutive months of inflation growth.
Key January price hikes:
- Electricity: +11.1%
- Waste collection services: +5.8%
- Transport: +0.8% (driven by petrol price increases)
Largest price drops:
- Clothing and footwear: -11.2% (due to winter sales)
- Leisure and culture: -3.3% (cheaper package holidays)
- Rail transport: -20.6% (subsidies from the government and autonomous communities)
While the Canary Islands recorded a slight decline in prices, Spain overall continues to face rising inflation, driven mainly by energy and transport costs. However, the moderation of food prices and key subsidies in public transport provide some relief to consumers.
The Spanish government has emphasised that despite rising inflation, the country maintains the strongest economic growth among major eurozone economies, balancing price stability with an increase in purchasing power.
