Malaga inflation moderates with prices no longer growing faster than in Spain as a whole

A common observation when discussing prices in Spain is that in Malaga province they tend to rise faster than in the country as a whole. In May, however, the trend reversed and, for the first time since October 2024, the CPI in the province was the same as the Spanish average.

According to Friday's data from the national institute of statistics (Ine), the inflation rate in Malaga stood at 3.2% last month (below the 3.4% recorded in April), identical to that of the country as a whole. In the case of Spain, the indicator remained the same as in April.

Since October 2024, prices in Malaga province have been consistently rising faster than in the country. In 2024, there were several months when Malaga's CPI was at or below the national rate.

This is not usually the case. In 2023, for example, Malaga was typically six to eight tenths of a percentage point higher. The same was true in 2022, during the major inflationary crisis the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered. For example, in the worst month, July 2022, prices in Malaga rose by 11.4%, while the national rate was 10.8%.

This also breaks another trend: Malaga consistently ranking among the provinces with the highest inflation in Spain. This past May, many other provinces had higher inflation rates.

There were 23 provinces, where the CPI increased more than the national average. Madrid, with 3.8%, saw the highest price increases, followed by Cantabria, Soria, and Toledo (3.7%). Within Andalucía, Granada (3.5%) also had the highest inflation. At the other end was Huelva, which, with 2.3% inflation in May, tied with Cáceres for the lowest inflation rate.

The price stability in Malaga is largely due to the slowdown in the rate of increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices (groceries, in short). While they rose at a rate of 3.2% in April, this eased to 2.4% in May. Meanwhile, in Spain as a whole, the rate fell from 2.6% to 2.2% month-over-month.

According to the Ine analysis, this trend was influenced by the price change of fruit and nuts, which rose less than in May 2025, as well as the prices of vegetables, legumes and potatoes, which fell more than a year ago.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, after rising to 4.4% in April, saw a slight decrease to 3.3% the following month. Nationwide, they went from 4.6% to 3.5% between April and May.

Meanwhile, clothing and footwear became 1.4% cheaper year-on-year in Malaga (1.1% in Spain). Similar is the rate with housing and utilities, as their cost has fallen by another 1.4% compared to 12 months ago.

However, despite these reductions, other components of the provincial CPI pushed prices upwards. For example, furniture and household goods rose from a 0.7% increase in April to 1.5% in May.

Furthermore, recreational, sporting and cultural activities, which remained at a modest 1.8% in April, doubled the following month to 3.6%. The Ine explains that this increase is mainly due to the prices of package holidays, which fell less than in May 2025.

Meanwhile, the transport sector saw a further increase, reaching 7.2% year-on-year, compared to 7.1% a month earlier. This is mainly due to the rise in air passenger transport prices, in contrast to the decrease 12 months prior.

Personal care items and social protection services recorded increases of 3.7% year-on-year, compared to 3.4% a month earlier and 3.1% in the country.

Restaurants and accommodation services grew more expensive at rates of 5% (compared to 4.8% at the national level), while education remained at 0.5% and health at 2.8%.