Inflation inches up in June
Complete data confirmed harmonized inflation came in at 1.3% in June, up from May’s 1.2% and coming in a notch above the preliminary estimate. Inflation sits below the European Central Bank’s target rate of near, but under, 2.0%. Higher price pressures for services largely drove the uptick.
Annual average harmonized inflation inched down to 1.7% in June, from May’s 1.8%. Core inflation, meanwhile, rose to 1.35 (May: 1.0%). On a monthly basis, harmonized consumer prices rose 0.2% in June, slightly above May’s 0.1% increase.
Among the countries in the common-currency bloc, Greece (0.2%) and Cyprus (0.3%) recorded the lowest inflation in June. On the flipside, Latvia (3.1%) and Slovakia (2.7%) experienced the highest price pressures. Regarding the largest economies in the Eurozone, inflation fell in Italy and Spain but picked up in Germany and France in June.