Sept 15 (Reuters) - Spain's European Union-harmonised 12-month inflation rate rose to 4.6% in August, up from 3.9% in the period through July, final data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) showed on Tuesday.
The INE's final data was above the 4.5% forecast in both the flash reading released two weeks ago and the average estimate from analysts polled by Reuters.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile fresh food and energy prices, fell to 2.9% in the 12 months through August, slightly down from 3.0% in the period through July, the INE said.
Spanish national consumer prices also rose 4.3% in the 12 months through August, up from a 3.6% increase in the period through July, and in line with the 4.3% rate initially measured by the INE two weeks ago.
(Reporting by Mireia Merino; Editing by David Latona)