Eurozone inflation eased in May to 2.7 per cent after hitting a 30-month peak the previous month, European Union data showed yesterday.

Annual inflation is expected to have dropped back slightly according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the EU’s data agency, after hitting 2.8 per cent in April.

While it marks the sixth month running in which inflation was well above the two per cent target set by the European Central Bank, it remains below the pre-crisis October 2008 level of 3.2 per cent. Fuelled by a spike in energy costs as well as for raw materials, the ECB recently lifted its benchmark interest rate from one per cent to 1.25 per cent with a further quarter-point rise expected over the summer.

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