Spanish Finance Minister Calvino Says Drop in Inflation Is Accelerating

Nadia Calvino, the Spanish finance minister, expressed her hope that the downward trend would continue after learning on Friday that Spain's inflation rate had fallen below 9%.

Calvino told Reuters at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, "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.

The financial fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has negatively impacted economic activity in the eurozone, leading to an increase in gas and electricity prices that the central bank warned would impact on the domestic economy in upcoming quarters.

Spain experienced high inflation rates in 2022, reaching a peak of 10.7% in July. However, inflation has started to decline and is now anticipated to be around 3% next year. Due to higher electricity prices in Europe and lower consumer spending, the Bank of Spain this month halved its GDP growth forecast for next year to 1.4%.