The inflation rate in the Eurozone stood at 2.5% year-on-year in June, one tenth of a percentage point lower than the rise in prices observed in May, according to the second reading of the data published by the EU statistics office, Eurostat, while in the European Union (EU) as a whole the rate fell by one tenth of a percentage point to 2.6%.
The slight moderation in price increases in the euro area in June reflected the 0.2% rise in the cost of energy, after rising by 0.3% year-on-year in May, while fresh food rose by 1.3% year-on-year, five tenths less than the previous month.
Likewise, non-industrial energy goods rose by 0.7% in June, in line with the May figure, as did services, which rose by 4.1% year-on-year, the same increase as in May.
Discounting the impact of energy on prices, the inflation rate was 2.8%, in line with May’s figure, while excluding also the cost of food, as well as tobacco and alcohol, the underlying rate for the euro area remained at 2.9%.
Among the EU-27, compared with May 2024, annual inflation fell in seventeen Member States, remained stable in one and increased in nine. The lowest annual rates were recorded in Finland (0.5%), Italy (0.9%) and Lithuania (1%), while the largest price increases were recorded in Belgium (5.4%), Romania (5.3%), Spain and Hungary (both 3.6%).
Thus, in June, the unfavourable price differential between Spain and the euro area narrowed to 1.1 percentage points, one tenth of a percentage point less than in May.
