Malaga province inflation moderates but food and transport prices continue rising

The Israeli and US attacks on Iran and the disruption to the flow of goods through the Strait of Hormuz significantly impacted prices in March. In Malaga province, the cost of living rose by 3.5%, its highest level since October 2025, compared to 2.6% in February.

In April, the CPI (consumer price index) took a slight step back, reaching 3.4% in the province, as the Ine (national institute of statistics) reported on Tuesday. Across Spain as a whole, the rate of inflation slowed, from 3.4% in March to 3.2%.

With a rate of 3.4%, Malaga is, for once, not among the Spanish provinces with the highest inflation. Ahead of it are, for example, Salamanca, Madrid, Soria and Toledo, where the year-on-year rate approaches 4%. At the other end are Guipúzcoa and Cáceres, where the rate of price increases is 2.5%.

For the country as a whole, the moderation in the rate at which prices are rising is due to the slower pace of the increase in housing utilitie, thanks to the drop in electricity prices. Although a less significant component of the CPI, the category of recreational activities, sports and culture, including package holidays, is also contributing to this trend.

Housing and utilities saw the most significant easing in Malaga, falling from 2.3% in March to 1.1% in April. This is because electricity, gas and other fuels became cheaper at a year-on-year rate of 5.6% last month.

Prices of recreational activities, sports and culture also moderated substantially, going from 2.8% in March to 1.8% in April, due to the fact that tourist packages became 4.3% cheaper compared to a year ago.

There were two items that did accelerate their rate of increase. First were food and non-alcoholic beverages, from 3.1% to 3.2%, mainly due to the former, which registered an increase of 3.2% compared to 3% in April.

Next came the transportation sector, rising from 5.3% in March to 7.1% in April. This was primarily due to rising fuel prices. This component of the provincial CPI registered a year-on-year increase of 10.9% last month, compared to 7.4% in March.

After transportation, the most significant price increases in Malaga province were dining out and staying in hotels, with year-on-year rises of 5%. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco followed, with a 4.4% year-on-year increase. Insurance and financial services also saw price increases exceeding the average inflation rate (3.2%), at 4.2%.