By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Spanish Finance Minister Nadia Calvino welcomed news on Friday that Spain’s inflation rate had dropped below 9%, and said she hoped the trend would continue.
“We just got the very good news that the final inflation number for September is below 9%. So the downward trend that started during the summer is accelerating,” Calvino told Reuters at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Economic activity in the eurozone has been hit by the financial fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, triggering an increase in gas and power prices that the central bank said would affect the domestic economy in coming quarters.
Calvino, who chairs the steering committee of the IMF, said inflation had begun to slow over the summer and the latest data pointed toward further reductions, barring significant increases in global energy prices.
“That downward trend should continue in the coming months, provided that energy prices worldwide do not go up significantly,” she said in an interview.
Spain recorded high inflation rates in 2022, with a July peak of 10.7%, but inflation has begun to ease and is now expected to drop to around 3% next year.
The Bank of Spain this month halved its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 1.4% for next year due to the impact of higher energy prices in Europe and lower consumer spending.
The central bank has projected annual EU-harmonised consumer inflation will reach 8.7% in 2022, up from a previously expected price increase of 7.2%. It expects a still hefty inflation rate of 5.6% in 2023 before it falls to 1.9% by 2024.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
