Ljubljana - Higher fuel prices have pushed Slovenia's annual inflation rate to 3% in October from 2.4% in September, as the monthly increase in consumer prices hit 0.9%, the Statistics Office said on Friday.

Oil derivatives were the single highest contributor to the headline rate, as various types of fuel were 30-40% more expensive than in the same period last year, contributing 1.6 percentage points to the overall rate.

Heating, hospitality services and car prices added 0.3 points each, show the latest figures.

The headline rate was slightly cushioned by lower prices of holiday packages and communications services.

At the monthly level the most pronounced price hikes were recorded in the clothing & footwear and the oil derivatives segments, which respectively contributed 0.5 and 0.3 points to the monthly rate.

The harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU benchmark, hit 3.5% compared to 2.7% in the previous month.