The IPRIX, export price index, records a strong rebound in July driven by energy and intermediate goods, which could mean the beginning of a phase of rising costs for industrial products, and non-industrial by extension.
The prices of industrial products manufactured in Spain and sold abroad increased by 4.4% in July compared to the same month of 2025, according to the provisional data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In comparison, the INE report indicates that the difference between both years exceeds by 1.1 points that recorded in June and reaches 1% in monthly terms.
The increase in costs may influence the ability of Spanish companies to compete in international markets, in addition to potentially affecting the national markets of Spain due to the rising costs of exports. The Export Price Index of Industrial Products, known as IPRIX, observes prices, not quantities, billing, orders, or market share.
What does the IPRIX really measure
The IPRIX measures each month the evolution of prices of industrial products manufactured in Spain and sold abroad during the first phase of marketing. The indicator measures only producer prices expressed in euros, excluding VAT, indirect taxes, or customs duties. It also does not include transportation and insurance corresponding to the external journey.
In this regard, the INE works with the IPRIX in the following way: it sends experts monthly to more than 4,100 industrial establishments, to collect information and analyze approximately 15,000 monthly prices and about 1,700 products. However, the INE's methodology does not include services or goods produced in other countries that may later be re-exported from Spain, so its function consists solely of isolating the variation in prices.
Why do prices increase?
There is a huge difference between selling more and the prices of productive goods becoming more expensive. Both cases can produce an increase in prices, although the difference lies in the cost of production. If a company exports 100 products at 100 euros, the value of its sales amounts to 10,000 euros. If the price rises by 4.4%, to 104.40 euros, but only sells 90 units, it will earn 9,396 euros. In that case, the price would have increased, but both the volume and the value of exports would have decreased.
The statistics from Customs and DataComex provide the declared value of exports of goods. The latest available data, corresponding to the first half of 2026, places foreign sales at 201,133.6 million euros, 2% more than a year earlier, as Demócrata reported when analyzing the evolution of Spanish exports.
That 2% and the 4.4% of the IPRIX are not directly comparable magnitudes: they belong to different periods and the former measures exported value, while the latter reflects industrial prices.
The engine of the economy, energy, becomes more expensive
It is commonly known that our modern economies are based on energy production. Without energy, society would lack the current quality of life, so if what stimulates economic growth becomes more expensive, then production slows down.
Observing the data from the INE reveals that export prices in the industrial sector increased by a 31.1% year-on-year, that is, 12.8 points more than in June 2026. The reasons are mainly due to the evolution of production, transportation, and distribution of electricity. However, if the cost of energy is excluded from industrial prices, then the IPRIX registers an annual increase of 2.7%, that is, 1.7 points less than the general rate. The data therefore reflects a conclusion: the increase in prices extends to the rest of the industry, but with a considerably lower intensity.
Likewise, intermediate goods also recorded a notable increase of 6.3%, due to the rise in prices of iron, steel, ferroalloys, and precious and non-ferrous metals, but, compared to June, electricity became more expensive by 24.4%, iron and steel by 2.2%, oil refining by 1.3%, and pharmaceutical specialties by 1.7%. Conversely, the prices of basic chemicals, processed meat, and oils and fats have decreased since then.
Is Spain losing international competitiveness?
First of all, it is important to understand competitiveness as the ability to be more efficient, in productive terms, than the rest of the competitors. In this sense, the Bank of Spain defines price competitiveness by comparing the prices of Spanish exports with those of countries competing in the same markets. This is closely connected to efficiency, understood as the ability to produce the largest amount (and quality) possible with the least number of resources possible.
Therefore, if Spanish prices increase by 4.4%, but those of competitors increase by 6%, then Spain would gain relative competitiveness despite that increase. If, on the contrary, foreign prices advance only by 1%, while Spanish prices remain at that 4.4%, then Spanish companies could lose relative advantage, as long as they do not compensate for the difference through quality, specialization, or productivity.
Furthermore, to know if Spain is losing industrial competitiveness, it is also necessary to analyze the exchange rate in operations carried out outside the eurozone, as a depreciation of that currency could lower Spanish products for the foreign buyer.
Therefore, after consulting various sources, it can be stated that there is no evidence that Spain has lost international competitiveness just because the IPRIX has increased by 4.4% annually in July. The increase is highly concentrated in energy (+31.1%) and intermediate goods (+6.3%), while the prices of exported consumer goods fell by 1.2% and equipment prices rose by a moderate 1.5%. Therefore, there is no widespread deterioration, although there is clear pressure in certain industrial sectors.
It should be noted that imports have risen even more, by 5.7%, which also points to higher costs for companies and a possible reduction in margins. But, in any case, the most rigorous conclusion is that there is a risk of loss of competitiveness in energy and intermediate goods, although the IPRIX does not show an aggregate loss of international competitiveness.