Annual inflation rate in EU and euro zone surges

On the EU28 level, the consumer prices growth measured by the Harmonised Consumer Price Index (HICP) has gone up to 2 percent, from April revised data of 1.5 percent, Eurostat said.

Compared to March, inflation rate has gone up in 26 EU member countries, including Croatia.

The highest annual inflation rate was recorded in Romania, 4.6 percent. It is followed by Estonia, with an inflation rate of 3.1 percent.

In Croatia, the consumer prices growth went up to 1.8 percent in May on the year. In April, the prices were 1.4 percent higher compared to April 2017.

The lowest consumer prices growth was recorded in Ireland (0.7 percent) and Greece (0.8 percent).

In the euro zone, too, the prices growth sped up significantly compared to the year before, to 1.9 percent, confirming Eurostat’s initial estimates. The estimate for April was increased by 0.1 percent, to 1.3 percent.

The annual inflation rate reached the level of just under 2 percent, the European Central Bank’s target level.

The highest contribution to the inflation rate came from the growth in prices of services, energy, and food, tobacco, and alcohol products.

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