Euro Inflation Down 0.1%

Annual inflation in Europe in March, measured by HICPs, fell by 0.1% in both zones to 1.7% in the euro area and 1.9% in the EU27 from 1.8% and 2% respectively in February. Euro area monthly inflation (MUICP) was 1.2% in March and in the EU27 inflation for March was 0.9%.

Greece had the lowest annual inflation rate in March at -0.2%. Latvia reported -0.3%. The highest annual rate of inflation was in Romania with 4.4%. The UK reported no figures. Electricity (0.17%) and package holidays (0.12%) had the biggest impact in inflation while the biggest downward effects came from transport (-0.23%) and telecommunications (-0.22%).

Fall In European Annual Inflation

Annual inflation fell in Europe in February in both the euro area and the EU27. In the euro area inflation fell to 1.8% from 2% while in the EU27 it fell to 2% from 2.1% in January. The monthly inflation figures also fell by 0.4% in both zones.

The lowest annual rates were in Greece (0.1%) and Portugal (0.2%) and the highest rates were in Romania (4.8%) and Estonia (4%). The biggest upward contributions to the changes were from electricity (0.17%), fruit and tobacco (both 0.07%) and the biggest downward contributions came from telecommunications (-0.22%), medical and paramedical services (0.08%) and garments (0.07%).