MADRID, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Spain's consumer prices rose by 1.6 percent in August when compared with the same month of 2016, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) confirmed by Spain's Statistical Office (INE) on Wednesday.
The INE informed that prices of transport rose by 3.3 percent in August year-on-year, due to higher prices of fuel, and prices of items related to housing increased by 3.3 percent as well because of higher prices of heating oil and gas.
Prices of communications rose by 0.7 percent and those of other good and services increased by 0.6 percent, the INE said.
After this data, Spain's consumer prices have been rising for 12 months in a row after registering negative rates for eight consecutive months.
The INE also reported that on a month-to-month basis, consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent from July to August, with prices of transport rising by 0.8 percent and prices of items related to leisure and culture increasing by 1.1 percent.
Prices related to the hotel industry rose by 0.4 percent and those related to housing increased by 0.1 percent.
On the other hand, prices of clothes and shoes fell by 1.2 percent and those of food and non-alcoholic drinks dropped by 0.1 percent.
Spain's Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos said that the country's CPI would be close to 1 percent in the upcoming months, in line with the government predictions. Enditem
