Inflation rises over ECB target in June
According to complete data released by Eurostat on 18 July, harmonized inflation came in at 2.0% in June—the highest reading since April 2017 (May: 1.9%). The result matched the preliminary estimate. As a result, inflation now sits above the European Central Bank’s target rate of near, but below, 2.0%. The uptick in inflation was due to a jump in energy prices, on the back of high global oil prices.
Annual average inflation also inched up in June, rising from May’s 1.4% to 1.5%. Meanwhile, core inflation edged down to 1.2% from May’s 1.3%. Harmonized consumer prices rose 0.1% from the previous month in June, below May’s 0.5% increase.
Among the countries in the common-currency bloc, Estonia (3.9%), Latvia (2.7%) and Slovakia (2.9%) experienced the highest inflation. Meanwhile, Ireland (0.7%) and Greece (1.0%) recorded the lowest inflation. Regarding the largest economies in the Eurozone, inflation rose almost across the board in June hitting 2.3% in France, 1.4% in Italy and 2.3% in Spain. However, inflation inched down from 2.2% in May to 2.1% in June in Germany.