STORY: Spanish economist on latest heavy drop in inflation
DATELINE: June 13, 2023
LENGTH: 0:00:51
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1-3 (Catalan): MONTSERRAT GUILLEN, Professor of Economics at Barcelona University

STORYLINE:

The most recent figures from Spain's National Institute of Statistics showed that Spain's inflation fell to 3.2 percent in May from 4.1 percent in April, the lowest for two years.

"Right now there's a lot of uncertainty but we have come to accept this uncertainty as natural," Montserrat Guillen, professor of economics at Barcelona University, made the remarks during an interview with Xinhua.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Catalan): MONTSERRAT GUILLEN, Professor of economics at Barcelona University
"Right now there's a lot of uncertainty but we have come to accept this uncertainty as natural. The Ukraine conflict no longer surprises anyone. In society, there's a feeling that we're in a crisis but because we know about it, it's an uncertainty that we have come to accept."

Last week, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) hinted at more interest rate hikes in a speech re-affirming the ECB's commitment to combating inflation.

The ECB has already raised key interest rates seven times in a row by a total of 3.75 percentage points.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Catalan): MONTSERRAT GUILLEN, Professor of economics at Barcelona University
"Prices will be a little higher than what is desirable, which means the European Central Bank would do well to maintain slightly higher interest rates to bring inflation down to two percent."

Nevertheless, the professor is far from pessimistic about the future.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Catalan): MONTSERRAT GUILLEN, Professor of economics at Barcelona University
"I'm very optimistic because while there is a lot of uncertainty right now, everyone is aware of it. When you are aware that a situation is uncertain, your expectations are more cautious and conservative."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)