Disadvantages for Alicante

BUSINESSES in the Alicante province are at a ‘competitive disadvantage’. This is due to the ‘obvious loss of competitiveness’caused by annual inflation, warned Alicante’s business confederation COEPA. The price of consumer goods rose by 1.4 per cent during April in the Alicante province and annual inflation has risen to 3.6 percent, the highest since September 2008.

Spain as a whole has seen an increase of 1.2 percent in the cost of consumer goods, although annual inflation was 3.8 percent.

All this is a ‘clear move away from the stability and growth objectives agreed within the monetary union, which sets a maximum inflation of 2 per cent’. A restrictive monetary policy has been initiated by the European Central Bank; the first of which is to raise interest rates to 1.25 per cent.

By Business Reporter Louise Berling