RSS
Eurostat: Romania, among the eight EU states with negative annual inflation rates in May
The annual inflation rate in the Eurozone decreased to 0.2pct in June, from 0.3pct in the previous month, whilst in the European Union it dropped from 0.3pct in May to 0.3pct, according to the data made public on Thursday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).
In June, the countries with the highest annual inflation rates were Malta (1.1pct), Austria (1pct), Belgium and the Czech Republic (both 0.9pct). On the other hand, eight EU states saw negative annual inflation rates in May, the first one having been Cyprus (minus 2.1pct), followed by Greece (minus 1.1 pct), Romania and Slovenia (both with minus 0.9pct).
Compared with May 2015, inflation fell in 13 EU states and it increased in eight and remained stable in seven.
In March, the European Central Bank (ECB) started the long-awaited quantitative easing programme worth 1,100 billion euros, aimed at redressing the Eurozone's economy and avoiding the risk of a deflationary spiral. ECB President Mario Draghi announced combined monthly sovereign bond purchases of the Eurozone countries and corporate bonds of up to 60 billion euros, from March 2015 until September 2016.
According to ECB estimates, the inflation rate will reach 0.7pct this year, and 1.3pct next year - well below the target of 2pct considered by the institution. However, these projections could be downwardly revised because they do not fully reflect the recent decrease in crude oil price.