Economy defends measures in force despite CPI rebound and will wait until September to evaluate new decisions

It's summer, and that translates into greater spending for citizens. The figures released this Wednesday confirm what wallets and credit cards had already been warning weeks ago. Staying in any national or international destination, recreational activities, transport, or the cost of energy are causing a greater outlay.

Inflation rose to 3.6% in July, according to the latest official data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the highest level since May 2024 and one tenth above what was forecast in the advance data a couple of weeks ago.

Given this situation, and at least for now, the Government maintains its planned roadmap. From the Ministry of Economy, they defend the deployment of the measures included in Royal Decree-Law 18/2026, approved on June 29 by the Council of Ministers and which will be in force until the end of next September.

The same sources maintain that the decisions adopted from the beginning are managing to cushion the impact of the international context on citizens' pockets. The Executive estimates that, despite the greater daily outlay, the measures have allowed inflation to be reduced by one percentage point on average during recent months. The argument of the Ministry of Economy is clear: without the previous measures and those that remain in force, citizens would have paid more.

The real impact on the pocket

The same data published this Wednesday indicate that the price of diesel rose by 15.7% in July compared to the same month last year, above the 15% threshold that Royal Decree-Law 18/2026 establishes as a condition for modifying the reductions designed for fuels.

By exceeding that limit, the safeguard clause is activated, which will raise the tax reduction on diesel to 20 cents per liter next September. The mechanism thus quadruples the 5-cent discount initially planned for that month.

The measure will provide relief for those who fill up their tanks, with a tax reduction of between 7 and 10 euros, depending on the liters refueled.

Meanwhile, vehicles that use gasoline —which, for now, are not experiencing pressure equivalent to that of diesel— will have a 5-cent per liter reduction during September, maintaining the gradual tax reduction schedule planned in the package of measures.

September, the date to decide the next steps

The Ministry of Economy values "very positively" the result of the measures approved to curb the consequences of the war in Iran.

It is precisely this balance that leads the Executive not to rule out new movements. Without anticipating what specific decisions could be adopted, from Economy they do not close the door to extending the measures currently in force if necessary. September thus becomes a key date to evaluate the scenario and decide if the package deployed so far needs continuity, modifications or new actions.

The first Response Plan was approved to be launched on March 20 and, after being extended, received support for the second time in Congress on July 23.

With the CPI at 3.6% —far from the objective set by Europe and the Executive itself— and diesel activating the safeguard clause, the Government faces the coming weeks with a double strategy: maintaining the current measures and reserving room to act after the summer if the evolution of prices makes it necessary. September will, therefore, be the moment when the Executive will have to decide if the current economic shield is still sufficient.