Jan 25 (Reuters) - Spanish industrial prices fell 6.3% in the 12 months through December, mainly as a result of cheaper energy, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Thursday.
Energy costs in December decreased 21% annually as they further recovered from a jump in 2021 and 2022 - triggered by a peak in demand when the pandemic ended and a supply disruption when Russia invaded Ukraine - that pushed prices at factory gates to record highs in mid-2022.
Intermediate goods prices fell 4.9% from December 2022.
The decline was shallower than during the 12 months through November when prices fell 7.6%, INE said, revising the figure from an initial 7.4%.
Industrial prices fell 0.3% in December from November, INE said.
Companies tend to pass on industrial price rises to customers, ultimately fuelling consumer inflation. The effect of industrial price declines are not as automatic, though.
Spain's annual inflation rate through December was 3.1% after peaking to almost 11% in mid-2022, the INE said earlier this month. (Reporting by Maria Luiza Amaral; editing by Inti Landauro and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
