MADRID: Spain’s EU-harmonised annual inflation fell to 0.8 percent in January, nearly half the 1.5 percent level posted in December, preliminary national statistics institute INE figures showed Friday. The level was the lowest since the figures for harmonised inflation started being kept in 1997, a spokeswoman for the institute said. INE will provide further details when it publishes its final inflation figures for the month on Feb 13. If the number is confirmed it will be the sixth straight month of decline for annual inflation in Spain. The slowdown in inflation comes as the international financial crisis has contributed to the collapse of a real estate boom, pushing Spain into its first recession in 15 years at the end of 2008, according to the Bank of Spain.
The annual inflation rate has fallen each month after hitting 5.3 percent in July, which was the highest since January 1997, due to an abrupt economic slowdown and lower oil prices.
