Rise in Spanish industrial prices slows in April on cheaper energy

(Reuters) -The rise in Spanish industrial prices calculated over a 12-month period slowed in April on cheaper energy, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Monday.

The industrial price index rose an annual 1.9% in April, down from a revised 4.6% increase in the 12 months through March, INE said.

Industrial prices fell 2.9% in April from March, driven by a 15.9% decline in electricity prices and a 7.3% contraction in refined oil products, INE said. The price of vegetable oils, mainly made from olives in Spain, fell 4%.

INE revised the year-on-year March price increase to 4.6% compared with an initial 4.9%.

Industrial price changes tend to anticipate consumer prices as companies eventually transfer most of their cost increases to customers, ultimately fuelling inflation.

Spain's European Union-harmonised 12-month inflation rate remained at 2.2% in April from the period through March.

(Reporting by Marta Serafinko in Gdansk and Javi West Larrañaga; editing by Inti Landauro and Mark Heinrich)