Spanish Core Inflation Up Even as Recession Deepens

Spain’s core inflation rate accelerated in January as the deepest austerity measures in the nation’s democratic history sustained price increases while pushing the economy deeper into recession.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and fresh food prices, accelerated to 2.2 percent in January, the National Statistics Institute in Madrid said today. That’s more than the 2.1 percent median of four forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. Underlying prices fell 1.6 percent from the previous month.