In the second quarter, Spain's economy grew by 0.7%, information from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, or INE. That was 0.1 percentage point higher than in the previous three months, as household consumption and investment drove growth. Fresh food prices rose much faster than the average shopping basket.
The gap shows up in weekly shopping. Fresh food prices rose by an average of 4.7% this year, information from the annual study by the Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios. The latest national-accounts release put growth at 2.6% from the same quarter a year earlier, in the second quarter of 2026.
The full shopping basket became 1.8% more expensive, a smaller increase than last year. Meat prices rose by 3.7%, while fish prices climbed by 8.6%; several fruit and vegetable products rose even more. OCU said prices increased for 61.8% of the products in its basket.
Some items jumped in price. Tomatoes rose by 33% and lemons by 25%; cauliflower climbed 23%, while aubergines rose 20%. OCU estimates a difference of about €1,310 between the most and least expensive supermarket options in its comparison.
Domestic demand carried more weight than earlier figures showed. Household consumption rose by nine tenths to 1.2%, while business investment accelerated by 1.5 points to 1.7%. Final consumption by public administrations remained at 0.5%. The figures point to an expansion led by spending inside Spain.
Investment in housing and construction, including other buildings, rose by 0.5%, up from 0.1% in the previous quarter. Investment in intellectual property products accelerated by 1.5 points to 3%. The Ministerio de Economía links that rise to the modernisation of the economy.
Foreign demand contributed less. Exports increased by 1%, one tenth more than in the first quarter, while imports grew by 2.6%, up 2.5 points. RTVE reported that this pattern cut the foreign sector's contribution by about half a percentage point. Internal demand was stronger; exports were not the basic source of growth.
The revised figures identify the immediate engine of the expansion: households and companies spent more inside the economy. But strong headline growth brings no equal relief to every family. A stronger labour market may help a household even as basic fresh products cost considerably more.
For families, the report is most visible at the produce counter. The average basket has risen less than last year, but tomatoes and lemons, along with cauliflower and aubergines, affect the weekly bill. Spain's economy grew by 0.7% in the quarter, supported by consumption and investment, while fresh food prices rose much faster than the basket as a whole. At the checkout, the recovery offers less relief on products households cannot easily avoid.
