Inflation eases slightly but still second highest in eurozone

Inflation in August moved slightly downwards when compared to the previous month but remained the second highest in the euro area, behind Slovenia.

Eurostat figures issued in Brussels yesterday show that Malta had an inflation rate of 5.4 per cent in August, or 0.2 per cent lower than the inflation rate in July. Taken on a 12-month average, Malta's inflation rate stood at 3.7 per cent.

Malta's inflation in August was quite higher than the average in the euro area, which also registered a slight drop, down from four per cent in July to 3.8 per cent in August. The EU 27 average in August was 4.2 per cent.

Eurostat said that in August the lowest annual rates were observed in the Netherlands (three per cent), Portugal (3.1 per cent) and Ireland (3.2 per cent) and the highest in Latvia (15.6 per cent), Lithuania (12.2 per cent) and Bulgaria (11.8 per cent).

The main components with the highest annual rates in the euro area this August were housing and transport (both 6.3 per cent) and food (6.2 per cent) while the lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-2.5 per cent), clothing (0.4 per cent) and recreation and culture (0.5 per cent).