Editing Economy of Spain (section)

==Prices==
Due to the lack of its own resources, Spain has to import all of its fossil fuels. Besides, until the 2008 crisis, Spain's recent performance had shown an inflationary tendency and an inflationary gap compared to other [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union|EMU]] countries, affecting the country's overall productivity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/1592/Spain%92s_economy_.html|title=Spain's Economy: Closing the Gap|publisher=[[OECD]] Observer|date=May 2005|access-date=25 April 2016}}</ref> Moreover, when Spain joined the eurozone, it lost the recourse of resorting to [[competitive devaluation]]s, risking a permanent and cumulative loss of competitive due to inflation.<ref>{{cite book  | last1 = Balmaseda | first1 = Manuel | last2 = Sebastian | first2 =  Miguel | editor1-last = Royo | editor1-first = Sebastián  | editor2-last = Manuel | editor2-first = Paul Christopher | title = Spain and Portugal in the European Union: The First Fifteen Years | chapter = Spain in the EU: Fifteen Years May Not Be Enough | year = 2003 | publisher = Frank Cass | location = London | isbn = 978-0-203-49661-9 | chapter-format = ebook | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=84yRAgAAQBAJ | page = 170}}</ref> In a [[2000s (decade) energy crisis|scenario of record oil prices by the mid-2000s]] this meant much added pressure to the inflation rate. In June 2008 the inflation rate reached a 13-year high at 5.00%.

Then, with the [[2003 to 2008 world oil market chronology#Mid-Late 2008 decreases|dramatic decrease of oil prices]] in the second half of 2008 plus the manifest bursting of the real estate bubble, concerns quickly shifted over to the risk of [[deflation]], as Spain recorded in January 2009 its lowest inflation rate in 40 years, followed shortly afterwards, in March 2009 by a negative inflation rate for the first time since the gathering of these statistics started.<ref name=Reuters2009>{{Citation
 |via=[[Associated Press]] | date = 13 February 2009 | access-date = 2 May 2009
 | title = Spain's Vegara does not expect deflation | periodical = Forbes | place = Madrid
 | url = https://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/02/13/afx6049113.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610212452/http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/02/13/afx6049113.html|archive-date=10 June 2009}}</ref><ref name=Agencias2009>{{Citation
 | last = Agencias | date = 15 April 2009 | access-date = 2 May 2009
 | title = El IPC de marzo confirma la primera caída de los precios pero frena la deflación
 | periodical = El País | series = Economía | place = Madrid | language = es
 | url = http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/IPC/marzo/confirma/primera/caida/precios/frena/deflacion/elpepueco/20090415elpepueco_1/Tes
}}</ref> During the 2009−early 2016 period, apart from temporary minor oil shocks, the Spanish economy has generally oscillated between slightly negative to near-zero inflation rates. Analysts reckoned that this was not synonymous with deflation, due to the fact that GDP had been growing since 2014, domestic consumption had rebounded as well and, especially, because [[core inflation]] remained slightly positive.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guijarro|first=Raquel Díaz|date=2016-03-11|title=España tiene la inflación más baja de los grandes países del euro|url=https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2016/03/11/economia/1457685476_808371.html|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Cinco Días|language=es}}</ref>

In 2017, moderate inflation between 1-2%, still below the ECB's target, returned as the impact of cheaper fuel prices faded and economic recovery took hold.<ref name="ExportsTiger">{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-24/spanish-shoes-in-asia-push-economy-toward-more-balanced-recovery | work=Bloomberg | first=María | last=Tadeo | title=Record Exports Give Spanish Recovery Some Tiger Economy Sheen | date=25 May 2017}}</ref>

The global hike in prices in 2022 was less severe in Spain than it was for its peers, ending the year with the lowest inflation rate in the eurozone, at 5.5%.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eurostat |date=18 January 2023 |title=Annual inflation down to 9.2% in the euro area |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/15725179/2-18012023-AP-EN.pdf/e301db8f-984c-27e2-1245-199a89f37bca |journal=Euroindicators}}</ref> Prices continued to evolve moderately in 2023, with a lower-than-expected rate of 3.2% year-on-year announced on May 30.<ref name=INE-inflation>{{Cite web |title=Flash estimate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). January 2025 |url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176802&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735976607 |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=INE |language=es}}</ref>