Madrid: Spanish consumer prices rose this month at their slowest rate since December, preliminary data published on Tuesday showed, placing inflation in line with the European Central Bank’s target for the first time in five months. Inflation, harmonised to compare with other European Union member states, was 2 per cent year-on-year in May, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said, equal to a Reuters forecast and down from a previous reading of 2.6 per cent.

The ECB’s inflation target is near to, or slightly below, 2 per cent.