Alan Wentworth-Harley's Marbella Property Insider

Standard & Poor's, an American credit rating agency, has recognized the Junta regional government's prudence in managing its debt, as well as its strong economic and financial policies. As a result, Andalucía's international financial solvency rating has reached its highest point since 2012. The region's rating was upgraded from 'BBB+' to 'A-', with a stable outlook, which places it among the regions with a strong capacity to meet its financial obligations. This rating is just one step away from the Spanish Treasury's risk rating ('A'). The agency also praised the Junta de Andalucía's commitment to stabilizing its budget and consolidating its fiscal policy. Furthermore, S&P highlighted the region's significantly improved average period of payment to suppliers, which contributed to its new credit rating. With a payment period of just 16 days, Andalucía enjoys a comfortable liquidity position, according to S&P.

The Spanish government has commended efforts to manage prices, but despite this, the core inflation rate - which excludes energy and fresh produce - remains high at 7.5%, even though the annual consumer price index for March fell significantly to 3.3% from 6% in February. The reason for this substantial decline is attributed to a 'step effect', meaning that prices have not necessarily decreased greatly since last month, but rather, compared to March of last year when there was a sharp increase in energy and raw material prices due to the Ukraine war, prices have fallen. While the government has acknowledged that recent decreases in the cost of electricity and fuel have helped to lower the rate of inflation, it still remains among the highest in Europe. The government's Economic Affairs Minister, Nadia Calviño, had previously anticipated the decrease in inflation for March, citing the measures implemented by the government to contain prices as contributing factors. The INE d...