Spanish national consumer prices rose 3.1% in the 12 months through December, down from a 3.2% increase in the period through November, as transportation costs fell, final data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) showed on Friday.

The final reading of 3.1% confirmed both the flash estimate released by INE two weeks ago and the estimate of analysts polled by Reuters.

During November, transportation costs fell 1.2% thanks to cheaper fuels, while the increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices slowed.

"The overall annual data is good data," Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said in a statement.

Average inflation for 2023 fell to 3.5% from 8.4% in 2022, mainly on the back of a 37% annual decline in electricity prices, INE said.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile fresh food and energy prices, was 3.8% in the 12-months through December, down from 4.5% in the 12-months through November, INE said. The indicator is at its lowest since March 2022.

INE also confirmed the flash reading of 12-month European Union-harmonised inflation at 3.3%, which was also the average estimate of analysts polled by Reuters. (Reporting by Tiago Brandao and Matteo Allievi, editing by Inti Landauro and Mark Potter)