The Consumer Price Index () fell 0.1% last December in relation to the previous month and raised its interannual rate four tenths, to 0.8%, its highest value since May and the lowest in a year-end from the year 2015, (INE), which .
With this advance of four tenths, the interannual CPI has chained two months of increases after climbing another three tenths in November. In this way, the CPI closes 2019 at 0.8%, half of what pensions rose in general at the beginning of last year (except for the minimum ones, which rose by 3%).
Statistics have attributed the upturn in the interannual rate of the CPI for December to the rise in fuel prices and, to a lesser extent, to air transport prices.
The interannual rate for December is the fortieth positive rate that chains the interannual CPI and implies that prices are 0.8% higher today than they were a year ago.
Core inflation, which does not include the prices of energy products or unprocessed food, remained at 1% in December, which is two tenths above the general CPI.
In the last month of last year, the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (IPCA) placed its annual rate at 0.8%, three tenths more than in November.
According to the INE, the evolution of the interannual CPI in December was a consequence of the increase of almost four points in the annual rate of the transport group, up to 4%, due to the rise in the cost of fuels and lubricants. The rise in passenger air transport also had an influence, although less, which was higher in December 2019 than in the same month in 2018.
The increase in the transport group contrasted with the drop in the annual rate of the housing group by almost one point, to -5%, due to lower electricity prices.
What went up and what went down in December?
In monthly terms (December 2019 compared to November of the same year), the CPI fell by 0.1% due to the decrease in prices of the housing group (-1.1%) due to the lower cost of electricity; clothing and footwear (-2.1%) due to the start of the winter sales season; and food (-0.2%), where the reduction in fruit prices and the rise in the prices of meat, legumes and vegetables, and fish and shellfish stood out.
On the contrary, the leisure and culture group raised prices in December by 2% due to the higher cost of tourist packages, and transport registered a monthly rise of 0.7% due to the higher cost of gasoline.
By heading, the ones that raised their prices the most in monthly rate were intercity public transport (+4%), sheep meat (+3.8%) and fresh vegetables (+1.9%). On the other hand, the largest monthly decreases were registered in fresh fruit (-4.7%), women’s and men’s clothing (-2.7% in both cases) and heating, lighting and water distribution (-2 ,5%).
What went up and what went down in price in the year?
In the interannual rate, the headings that experienced the greatest decreases in prices were heating, lighting and water distribution (-11.2%) and oils and fats (-8.5%). On the opposite side, the greatest price increases during the past year were experienced by pork meat (+7.2%), sugar (+5.5%) and fresh fruits (+5.2%).
Going into more detail, what fell the most in price in 2019 was butane and propane (-16.6%); electricity (-16.4%); mobile phone equipment (-13.9%), other computer media, such as external hard drives and USB memories (-13.7%), and olive oil (-11.4%).
On the contrary, what became more expensive in 2019 was jewelry (+10.5%), international flights (+9.6%), gasoline (+8.9%), domestic flights (+ 7.9%) and pork meat (+7.2%).
The IPC rises in all the communities
The annual rate of the CPI rose in December in all the autonomous communities. The greatest rebound in the annual rate was recorded in the Balearic Islands and Castilla-La Mancha, with an increase of six tenths in both cases, while the smallest was in Andalusia, with an increase of two tenths.
At the end of 2019, Navarra and the Basque Country were the communities with the highest CPI rates, 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively, while the lowest rates corresponded to Asturias and the Canary Islands (0.4% in both cases).
The Government will use the CPI from December 2019 to November 2020 for compensation to pensioners
The Government will use the average interannual CPI for the months of December 2019 to November 2020 as a reference to compensate those in case this data exceeds the increase in pensions by 0.9% for this year.
Thus, if the average annual CPI from December 2019 to November 2020 exceeds 0.9%, pensioners will be paid the difference in a single payment that they will receive before April 1, 2021.
This is stated in the Royal Decree-law on the revaluation of pensions for 2020 approved yesterday by the Council of Ministers and which will come into force tomorrow, according to the Official State Gazette (BOE) on Wednesday.
, with retroactive effect from January 1. The arrears corresponding to the month of January will be included in the February pension payroll, according to the Ministry of Inclusion, Migration and Social Security.
The cost of this revaluation amounts to 1,406 million euros, of which 1,229 million euros correspond to the increase in contributory pensions, 144 million to passive classes, 23 million euros to non-contributory pensions and 10 million euros to family benefits per dependent child, which are also revalued by 0.9% in 2020.
The increase will benefit more than 9.8 million contributory pensions, more than 655,000 passive classes, 451,156 non-contributory pensions and 195,000 pensions for dependent children with disabilities greater than or equal to 65%.
It is the third year in a row, after 2018 and 2019, in which pensions have increased above the expected legal minimum (0.25%). Last year they increased by 1.6% in general and 3% in the case of the minimum and non-contributory.
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