LIMA Peru's inflation rate based on the metropolitan region of the capital Lima fell to 0.32% in May, government data showed on Thursday, but the rate of creeping consumer prices still came in above the 0.25% estimated by a Reuters poll.

The slight uptick for inflation in May slowed from 0.56% in April, while inflation in the last 12 months reached 7.89%.

Peru's central bank, as well as many economic analysts, use the metro Lima inflation rate as an accurate reference for prices nationwide.

Peru, a major global copper producer, posted an inflation rate of 8.46% in 2022, the highest annual figure in more than a quarter of a century, according to official data.

The slowdown in the rise in consumer prices has been driven by more moderate energy and transportation prices, the data showed.

Peru's central bank expects annual inflation to return to its 1%-3% target range by the end of the year.

Last month, the South American country's central bank decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7.75% for the fourth consecutive month.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Marco Aquino; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Jason Neely and David Alire Garcia)