Prices rose a half point in November and confirm the emergence of signs of recovery after eight consecutive months of decline that has placed Spain in a period of recession. This finding was confirmed by the National Statistics Institute (INE) and gives the cumulative inflation from January at 0.8% and the year at 0.3%.

Benefitting most from this result are the countries 8 million pensioners who at the start of the year received a 2% increase in payments and, although prices have risen0.8% through November, will not to be forced repay the difference. They would have benefited from increases in purchasing power between 1.6% and 6% on average (plus, the Government increased the pension base rate). This situation was first seen in 1998 and the PP government decided to keep rising payments despite strong criticism about the financial stability of public pension system.

The second target market are the almost three million civil servants, who received an increase on wages of 3.4%. The November CPI data has not only ruled out the fear of continual deflation put forward by those who argued that in the short term “the worse the better,” but they have also identified new inflation risks that may accompany the recovery process.