Spain's consumer prices rise 3 pct in January

Spain's consumer prices rose by 3 percent in January when being compared with the same month of a year earlier, according to data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published on Wednesday by Spain's Statistical Office (INE).

Spain's consumer prices have been rising for five consecutive months year-on-year and the figure of January is the highest since October, 2012, the INE highlighted.

The INE reported that prices of items related to housing rose by 7.4 percent in January on a year-on-year basis, due to higher prices of electricity as opposed to the falls experienced in January, 2016, when prices related to housing had fallen by 6 percent year-on-year.

Prices of electricity shot up in Spain in the beginning of the year mainly due to the cold snap, which caused an increase in demand.

Prices of transport rose by 7.6 percent due to higher prices of fuel as opposed to the falls of January, 2016, when prices of transport had fallen by 1.9 percent year-on-year.

The INE also reported that prices of other goods and services rose by 1.4 percent in January year-on-year and those related to communications increased by 2.6 percent.

On the other hand, consumer prices fell by 0.5 percent from December to January, the INE said. Prices of clothes and shoes fell by 15.3 percent due to the Christmas sales period while those of leisure and culture decreased by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, prices of items related to housing increased by 2.8 percent, those of food and non- alcoholic drinks rose by 0.7 percent and those of transport rose by 1 percent.

Spain's State Secretary of State for Economy, Irene Garrido, said that the annual inflation rate of January would fall in the second quarter of the year as the rise of the beginning of the year was "temporary" due to the higher prices of electricity and fuel. Endit