Spanish inflation quickened again in the first of a string of reports from around the region that will help European Central Bank officials judge whether to keep raising interest rates.

Consumer prices rose 2.4% in August from a year earlier, up from 2.1% the prior month, driven by fuel costs, the country's statistics agency said on Wednesday. 

The outcome matched the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. It's the second consecutive month of acceleration.

The numbers from the region's fourth-biggest economy kick off more than 24 hours of national reports that will ultimately lead to the release of euro-zone inflation on Thursday, which is seen likely to show underlying price pressures still stubbornly stuck above 5%. 

That's more than twice the goal targeted by ECB officials, who have identified this week's data as pivotal for a cliffhanger decision on Sept. 14. 

Policymakers will determine then if a 10th consecutive hike in borrowing costs is needed to tame inflation, or whether the euro-zone is weak enough to warrant a pause.

More significant in their judgment than Spain will be figures later on Wednesday from Germany, the region's biggest economy, that are likely to show consumer prices are still growing at an annual pace exceeding 6%. 

Initial data released earlier on Wednesday from North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German state, showed inflation at 5.9%, up from 5.8% in July. 

French numbers on Thursday are anticipated by economists to show quickening further above 5%, while Italy's outcome is seen slowing though still stuck above that level. 

The report for overall consumer-price growth in the euro region will also be published on Thursday. So-called core inflation that strips out volatile food and energy prices, a measure ECB officials are studying closely, is expected to come in at 5.3%, according to forecasters' median estimate. 

Source : Bloomberg