MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Economy Secretary Fernando Jimenez Latorre said on Thursday that inflation could remain negative in the next two months, but consumer prices were expected to end the year in positive territory.
Inflation data for August showed EU-harmonised consumer prices down 0.5 percent year-on-year, the lowest figure in nearly five years.
However, Jimenez Latorre said recent negative inflation figures were "temporary", reflecting a fall in energy prices which he expected to recover by year-end.
"We are not in a situation that I would classify as deflation," he told reporters, noting that internal demand is rising.
(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, Editing by Sarah White)