The second biggest concern for Spaniards, after housing, is the performance of the economy, which continues to deteriorate in light of the latest data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The agency's figures downgraded its July forecast by a tenth of a point and confirmed that inflation rose to 3.6%. This is the worst figure recorded since May 2024.
There have now been five consecutive months with a year-on-year rate above 3%, and the rebound has a clear culprit: the fuel crisis and soaring electricity prices.
This is also happening in a month marked by strong consumer demand because of the intense heat and successive heatwaves during the dog days of summer, which are pushing electricity bills even higher.
Electricity prices in July are hovering at around €105 per megawatt hour: the biggest year-on-year increase since the same month in 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine put pressure on European supplies. Six years on, it is the partial blockages in the Red Sea and, above all, the Strait of Hormuz that are fuelling instability in energy prices.
