Spain's annual inflation rate rises for first time in 4 months

For the first time in four months, Spain''s annual inflation rate spiked to 3.1% in September , according to official data released by the National Statistics Institute on Tuesday. A statement by the Institute said that this increase is basically due to tobacco, alcohol and transportation groups'' higher prices. "The fuel group index rose by an annual rate of 16.4% and the energy products by 15.9%, while the index of basic food group by 10.3% in September over the same period of 2010", the institute said. The consumer price index (CPI) stood at three percent in August and at 3.1 and 3.2 in July and June respectively after having hit 3.8% in the month of April, its highest level since September 2008. The Spanish government predicted that annual inflation rate in Spain will gradually fall down in the months ahead to reach 1.7% by the end of 2011.