Spain’s consumer price inflation refused to budge in May, holding at 3.2% and staying well above the European Central Bank’s 2% target. The reading matched April’s figure exactly.
The EU-harmonized measure came in even hotter at 3.6%.
The ECB responds with its first rate hike in three years
On June 11, 2026, the ECB’s Governing Council raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points. That’s the first increase in nearly three years.
Alongside the hike, the ECB revised its 2026 headline inflation forecast upward to 3.0% for the entire euro area. The euro area GDP growth forecast sits at a sluggish 0.8%.
