Speaking at a financial event in Milan, de Guindos said inflation was likely at its peak or anyway close to it.

"For headline (inflation) ... I think that we're there in terms of the peak, perhaps one decimal point up or down, it will be hovering, but I think that in the first half of next year we will see a decline," he said.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Balazs Koranyi)