Euro Area: Inflation picks up in May from April
Latest reading: Harmonized consumer prices increased 3.2% in annual terms in May, following a 3.0% rise in the previous month. May’s reading was the strongest since September 2023.
Relative to the prior month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for energy prices (+11.0% in annual terms vs +10.8% in April), services (+3.5% vs +3.0% in April) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.9% vs +0.8% in April). In contrast, price pressures reduced for food, alcohol and tobacco in May (+2.0% vs +2.4% in April).
Meanwhile, core consumer prices rose 2.6% on a year-on-year basis in May, following a 2.2% rise in the previous month.
Finally, harmonized consumer prices increased 0.10% in May on a month-on-month basis, following a 1.03% rise in the prior month.