Spain: Prices rise after months of decline

All Associated Press news

MADRID (AP) - Spain's consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in November after eight months of decline, the government said Friday.

The increase in prices was reported by the National Statistics Institute and attributed mainly to higher prices for oil.

The November EU-harmonized figure compares to a 0.6 percent year-on-year decline in October.

The number released Friday is a preliminary estimate. The institute will publish definitive figures on Dec. 15.

With the country in technical recession, prices started falling in March. They bottomed out in July, with an inflation rate of minus 1.4 percent.

But the government has ruled out the threat of deflation — a downward spiral in which households delay spending in hopes of lower prices and retailers cut prices in hopes of luring buyers.

It says Spain will end 2009 with a positive inflation rate.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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