The inflation rate in the eurozone stood at 2.6% year-on-year in May, two tenths above the price increase registered in April. According to data published by Eurostat, the community statistics office, this increase represents the first rebound since December 2023, climbing to its highest level since last February. In the whole of the European Union (EU), the interannual inflation rate reached the 2.7%one tenth above the rise in prices in April.
The acceleration of inflation in the euro region was blamed on 0.3% increase in energy costs, after having dropped 0.6% in the month of April. As for the fresh food, these rose 1.8%, six tenths more than those registered in the fourth month of the year. Likewise, the Non-industrial energy goods rose 0.7% in Maytwo tenths less than the previous month, but the services rose 4.1%, compared to 3.7% April, thus reaching its highest level since October 2023.
When discounting the impact of energy on prices, the inflation rate rose to 2.8%, one tenth more than in April. Also excluding the cost of food, tobacco and alcohol, the underlying rate rose to 2.9% from 2.7%.
Among the Twenty-seven countries that make up the community organization, the lower annual inflation rates were recorded in Latvia (0%), Finland (0.4%) and Italy (0.8%), while the higher were observed in Romania (5.8%), Belgium (4.9%) and Croatia (4.3%). Compared to April, annual inflation decreased in eleven Member States, remained stable in two and increased in fourteen. The highest monthly falls were recorded in Latvia (-1.1%), Greece (-0.8%), Croatia (-0.6%) and Romania (-0.4%). Regarding the largest monthly increases, they occurred in countries such as Denmark (1.6%) and Portugal (1.5%).
In the case of Spain, the harmonized inflation rate reached 3.8% in May, four tenths more than in April, widening the price differential with respect to the eurozone average to 1.2 percentage points. According to the progress data published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the inflation was located in the 3.6% in May three tenths above that corresponding to the month of April. This increase is directly related to the rise in electricity prices compared to the decreases in May 2023 and the slightest drop in fuel prices. Refering to Underlying inflation, This remained stable in May, standing at 3%, one tenth above that registered in April. This slight increase is influenced by the increase in prices of tourism-related services, such as tourist packages or accommodation services.
From the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business, they consider that the evolution of inflation in recent months remains stable, “what which is allowing the purchasing power of families to improve, which have already recovered the pre-pandemic level.” Furthermore, they believe that the moderation of the inflation data “maintains the competitiveness of Spanish companies”. This environment places the “growth context of the Spanish economy” above “the euro zone average.”
