Inflation is gaining ground again and begins to put pressure on the purchasing power of households. The CPI closed July at 3.6% year-on-year, four-tenths higher than in June and at its highest level since May 2024. In monthly terms, prices increased by 0.3%. Core inflation —which excludes unprocessed food and energy products— also rose by one-tenth, to 3%.
The data leaves a clear picture: it is not so much food that is currently driving inflation as it is energy, housing, and transportation. And that has a direct consequence on families, because some of the hardest expenses to reduce are precisely those related to the home and commuting.
Housing and transportation, above the CPI
Two of the major categories of household spending show in July rates clearly above general inflation.
The component of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels records a year-on-year increase of 5.7%, while transportation rises by 6.2%. In both cases, energy plays a decisive role.
The rise in transportation is closely related to the cost of fuels. In July, the price of diesel increased by 15.7% year-on-year, while gasoline became more expensive by 7.3%. The increase in liquid fuels reaches 31.5% in the corresponding CPI classification.
Electricity also does not give a break: its price increased by 8.4% year-on-year in July, contributing to the rise in the housing group.
| Household spending | Annual variation July 2026 |
|---|---|
| General CPI | +3.6% |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | +1.6% |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels | +5.7% |
| Transportation | +6.2% |
| Diesel | +15.7% |
| Gasoline | +7.3% |
| Electricity | +8.4% |
| Core inflation | +3.0% |
The contrast is significant: while the overall prices increase by 3.6%, a family that has high spending on energy or transportation faces much larger increases in specific items.
Food gives a break
The evolution of food offers a different reading. Food and non-alcoholic beverages increase by 1.6% year-on-year, a rate significantly lower than the general CPI and the most moderate since 2021, according to the data published after the close of July.
That does not mean that the entire shopping basket has become cheaper. The general data hides very different behaviors among products. Some fresh foods continue to register significant increases, with particularly notable rises in products such as fresh citrus and eggs.
The difference regarding energy is, therefore, evident. Food continues to make the family basket more expensive, but in July it is not the main responsible for the rise in inflation.
And what about salaries?
The comparison with wages is what allows measuring to what extent this rise translates into a loss of purchasing power.
The data from the Ministry of Labor corresponding to the collective agreements registered until July places the average agreed salary increase at 3.02%. In other words, the average salary increase is 0.58 points below the CPI of 3.6% recorded finally in July.
This does not mean that all workers have lost purchasing power in the same proportion. The statistics of agreements is an average and does not capture the evolution of all salaries or individual situations. But it does allow establishing a useful comparison between the average evolution of prices and that of the agreed salaries.
Furthermore, there is a relevant difference between the agreements signed this year and the previous agreements that continue to have economic effects in 2026. The 460 agreements signed between January and July contemplate an average increase of 3.73%, while the 2,308 agreements signed in previous years register an average increase of 2.91%.
Thus, workers whose agreements have been recently updated present, on average, a somewhat better situation than those who have increases from previous agreements, although the general data of agreements remains below the CPI of July.
A wage gap that is narrowing
With the available data, the comparison for July leaves a difference of 0.58 points between the CPI and the average salary increase agreed in the agreement. If prices maintain a rate higher than salary increases for several months, the accumulated effect may end up reducing the purchasing power of workers.
The scenario is also not homogeneous: the agreements signed in 2026, with an average increase of 3.73%, are slightly above the inflation of July, although the set of agreements with economic effects in the year remains at 3.02%.
The main pressure on households, therefore, does not now come from a new generalized escalation of food prices, but from three specific elements: energy, housing, and transportation; three components with significant weight in the household economy where it is more difficult to reduce spending immediately.
General inflation accelerates again to 3.6%, while agreed salaries advance on average to 3.02%. The difference is small in percentage terms, but enough so that, especially in households most exposed to energy and transportation expenses, a part of the salary improvements ends up being absorbed by the increase in the cost of living.