Spain’s annual CPI inflation rises to 4.9% in September 2026

Spain’s annual consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.9% in September 2026 from 4.3% in August, according to INE’s national CPI figures. Core inflation rose to 3.1% from 2.9%. Both measures therefore signalled stronger annual price pressure, although the much larger headline increase points to a growing divergence rather than a uniform acceleration.

The headline reading extended the rise seen since June, when annual inflation stood at 3.2%. It increased to 3.6% in July before accelerating further in August and September. September’s rate was the highest across the observations from September 2025 through September 2026. That sustained recent rise contrasts with the unchanged headline readings recorded from April through June.

Core inflation, which excludes unprocessed food and energy products, followed a less pronounced path. Its annual rate fluctuated between 2.8% and 3.0% from April through August before reaching 3.1% in September. The gap between headline and core widened to 1.8 percentage points from 1.4 percentage points in August. That divergence does not identify which individual components drove the headline acceleration.

The year-earlier comparison reinforces the contrast in scale. In September 2025, headline inflation was 3.0% and core inflation was 2.4%. Both annual rates were higher a year later, but the headline increase was substantially greater. These comparisons concern changes in annual inflation rates, not the movement in consumer prices between August and September.

Purchasing-power pressure intensifies

The combined signal is renewed pressure on household purchasing power, with headline inflation accelerating more sharply than the underlying measure. If nominal household income growth does not keep pace, faster annual price increases reduce the quantity of goods and services that income can buy. Households could consequently face tighter room for discretionary spending, depending on their income gains and spending patterns.

The rise in core inflation also qualifies any reading that treats the acceleration as confined to the categories excluded from core. Price pressure remained positive within that narrower basket and strengthened in September. Even so, the comparatively modest core increase supports a more measured assessment of inflation persistence than the headline surge alone would suggest.