Malta is once again experiencing a high rate of inflation according to the latest statistics published in Brussels yesterday.

Eurostat said Malta had the third highest inflation rate in the euro area last December, reaching a peak of four per cent on an annual basis, almost twice the average on the eurozone.

In December, Malta saw its inflation climb by 0.6 per cent over November, twice the increase registered in the euro area. Only Estonia (5.4 per cent) and Greece (5.2 per cent) saw a higher inflation rate than Malta last month.

The average annual inflation rate in the euro area last month rose by 0.3 per cent on November reaching 2.2 per cent.

According to the EU’s statistics arm, the main components with the highest annual rates in December 2010 in the euro area were transport (5.2 per cent), housing (3.8 per cent) and alcohol and tobacco (3.6 per cent).

Fuel for transport (+0.58 percentage points) and heating oil (+0.19) had the largest upward impacts on the head-line rate of inflation.

Meanwhile, better news for Malta comes out of new trade statistics which show that in the first 10 months of last year Malta managed to increase the value of exports by €200 million or 15 per cent over the same period in 2009.

According to Eurostat, between January and October 2010, Malta managed to export €1.5 billion worth of goods. In the same period, imports rose by four per cent reaching the value of €2.6 billion.

All EU member states, except Luxembourg, registered an increase in exports.

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