Deconstructing inflation in Spain
Fecha: mayo 2023
SEFO, Spanish and International Economic & Financial Outlook, V. 12 N.º 3 (May 2023)
Index
The recent relaxation in energy prices and improved outlook for food prices holds the promise of a deflationary process in Spain. That said, given the inherent volatility of these markets, coupled with still persistent core inflation dynamics, we are unlikely to see a rapid convergence to price stability targets and thus do not expect a return of expansionary monetary policy any time soon.
The intensity and persistence of the recent bout of post-pandemic inflation is causing a set of undesirable consequences for Spanish households. However, the headline figures mask an even more worrying reality – that the current inflationary phenomenon has had proportionately more severe consequences for less well-off households.
The recent bouts of financial instability in the US and Europe (Credit Suisse) have raised concerns over the implications of monetary tightening underway. Although the European banking sector, including the Spanish banks, is proving generally more resilient than its US counterparts, the instability has had a pronounced adverse impact on most financial intermediaries and heightened concerns regarding potential spillovers from the shadow banking system.
Deposit beta pass-through appears to be slower this time around relative to previous episodes of monetary tightening. While understanding the rate of pass-through requires a holistic examination of banks’ pricing strategies, ultimately competitive pressures will culminate in driving up deposit beta over time.
Under Next Generation EU (NGEU), the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery
and Transformation (PERTEs, in their Spanish acronym) were created to channel over 40 million euros in funds into areas identified as priorities for the modernisation and competitiveness of the national economy. However, numerous challenges have resulted in PERTE execution by the end of 2022 of around only 5.6 billion euros and going forward, it will be important to assess both ex-ante and post grant award initiatives to ensure maximizing the funds’ potential.
Statistical revisions have confirmed initial assumptions over the impact of the pandemic on household and corporate accounts. In the case of households, their favourable performance in light of the pandemic was even better than originally anticipated, while in the case of corporates, not only did they bear the brunt of pandemic economic fallout, but their performance was indeed worse than anticipated.
Increasing interest rates across the eurozone are restricting access to bank loans, while at the same time leaving households and businesses with outstanding credit in a more vulnerable position. Fortunately, in the case of Spain, both businesses and households are in a stronger position to face these challenges given the significant private sector deleveraging effort that has taken place in the wake of the previous financial crisis.