Higher EU inflation

The eurozone annual inflation rose from 1.7 per cent in March to two per cent in April 2004, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities, reported yesterday.

A year earlier the rate was 2.1 per cent. The monthly inflation was 0.4 per cent in April 2004.

The annual inflation in the 25 EU member states was 1.9 per cent in April 2004, up from 1.7 per cent in March. A year earlier the rate was 1.9 per cent. The monthly inflation rate was 0.4 per cent in April 2004.

In April 2004, and among the EU member states, the lowest annual rates were observed in Lithuania (-0.7 per cent), Finland (-0.4 per cent), Cyprus (0.1 per cent) and Denmark (0.5 per cent) and the highest rates were recorded in Slovakia (7.8 per cent), Hungary (seven per cent), Latvia (five per cent) and Malta and Slovenia (both 3.6 per cent).

Compared with March 2004, annual inflation rose in 17 member states, fell in three and remained the same in four.

The lowest 12-month averages up to April 2004 were in Lithuania (-0.9 per cent), Finland and the Czech Republic (both 0.8 per cent) and Estonia (one per cent); highest were in Slovakia (8.6 per cent), Hungary (5.5 per cent), Slovenia (4.8 per cent) and Latvia (3.8 per cent).