Malta had the third highest level of inflation in the EU in May, according to Eurostat figures released today.
The highest annual rates were recorded in Belgium (1.8 per cent), Sweden (1.2 per cent) and Malta (one per cent). The rate of inflation in Malta has remained relatively stable for a year.
Euro area annual inflation was 0.1 per cent in June, up from -0.1 per cent in May. In June 2015 the rate was 0.2 per cent. European Union annual inflation was zero per cent in June, up from -0.1 per cent in May.
The statistical office of the European Union said negative annual rates were observed in 13 member states. The lowest annual rates were registered in Cyprus (-2 per cent), Bulgaria (-1.9 per cent) and Croatia (-1.2 per cent). Compared with May 2016, annual inflation fell in two member states, remained stable in eight and rose in seventeen.
The largest upward impacts to euro area annual inflation came from restaurants and cafés (+0.11 percentage points), rents and tobacco (both +0.06 pp), while fuels for transport (-0.41 pp), heating oil (-0.16 pp) and gas (-0.13 pp) had the biggest downward impacts.