Malta experienced a slight dip in inflation last month in contrast with the rest of the eurozone.

Malta’s inflation in April stood at 2.4 per cent, 0.4 per cent below that of the previous month, according to figures published by Eurostat yesterday. On the other hand, the average inflation in the euro area rose to 2.8 per cent, a slight increase of 0.1 per cent over March.

The surge in inflation in the euro area has already led the European Central Bank to increase interest rates in the 17-member euro area. It is expected to raise interest rates further next year to try to stifle rapid inflation growth.

Some eurozone member states are reporting massive inflation growth. Estonia, the newest member of the club, posted an inflation rate of 5.4 per cent in April. Portugal’s and Luxembourg’s inflation stood at four per cent.

On the other hand, the lowest inflation in the euro area last month was reported in Ireland (1.5 per cent) and Slovenia (two per cent).

According to Eurostat, the main components which contributed to high inflation rates in April were transport (5.9 per cent), housing (five per cent) and alcohol and tobacco (3.4 per cent).

Detailed sub-indices shows that fuels for transport (0.56 percentage points), heating oil (0.21) and electricity (0.12) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate while telecommunications (0.12), vegetables (-0.10) and rents (-0.09) had the biggest downward impacts.

Since Malta imports almost all of its requirements, the island traditionally has a higher inflation rate than the eurozone.