Spain's consumer prices fall by 0.8 pct in March

Spain's consumer prices fell by 0.8 percent in March when compared to March 2015, according to Consumer Price Index data confirmed on Wednesday by Spain's statistical office (INE).

The figure is the same as that of February, when Spain's consumer prices fell by 0.8 percent compared to February last year.

According to the INE, transport prices fell by 5.3 percent in March year-on-year, while prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 1.7 percent and those of hotels, cafes and restaurants increased by 1.6 percent.

On a month-to-month basis, Spain's consumer prices rose by 0.6 percent, with prices of clothing and shoes going up 4.3 percent, transport prices rising by 1.5 percent, hotel industry prices rising by 0.5 percent and prices related to leisure and culture increasing by 0.8 percent.

On the other hand, prices of items related to housing fell by 0.1 percent.

Spain's consumer prices have been falling for three consecutive months on a year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, the inflation rate was negative throughout almost the entire year in 2015, with the exception of the months of June, July and December with rates of 0.1 percent, 0.1 percent and 0 percent respectively. Endit