The April year-on-year inflation rate in the euro area rose to 1.6 percent. It was thus 0.3 percentage points higher than in March. Of the euro-paying countries, prices rose the fastest in Luxembourg, by 3.3 percent.
In April, only two countries remained in the euro area (but also within the European Union), which are still struggling with deflation. Namely Greece, where prices fell by 1.1 percent year on year, and Portugal, where deflation reached one tenth of a percent. Energy prices, which rose by 10.4 percent year on year in the euro area (rose by only 4.3 percent in March) had the strongest effect on inflation.
Inflation also accelerated across the European Union, with prices rising by two percent year on year in April (inflation reached 1.7 percent in March). Hungary (5.2) and Poland (5.1) experience the highest inflation of the 27. The Czech Republic reported more than 3% inflation, at 3.1 percent, and the aforementioned Luxembourg.
Inflation in the euro area is thus close to the European Central Bank’s target of two percent year on year. The accelerated growth rate of the price level has been a global phenomenon in recent months. In the United States, inflation shot above 4 percent in April.
