Inflation

Inflation is the general increase in prices in an economy over a certain period of time. Inflation is typically measured on an annual basis. There are many prices in the economy, for example those related to prices of raw materials used in industry, or to employment (wages), but the prices with behavior that is of special concern are those related to a typical “shopping basket”, which are the prices paid by consumers. These prices reflect the changing purchasing power of a specific amount of money.

Inflation in Spain is measured using the consumer price index (CPI, or IPC in Spanish), which is produced by the country's National Statistical Institute (INE in Spanish). The CPI measures price evolution for the goods and services consumed by the people living in family homes in Spain.