Inflation will remain at current levels in the second half of 2023, Spain's acting Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Thursday.

Spanish 12-month inflation rose to 2.6% in August, boosted by higher fuel prices.

"In this second part of the year, inflation will remain more or less at these levels," she said on radio station Cadena SER.

Calvino, who is also a candidate to lead the European Union's lending arm, the European Investment Bank, said economic growth may actually surpass the 2.1% government target for 2023.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Emma Pinedo and Alison Williams)