Euro Area: Harmonized inflation increases in May
Harmonized inflation edged up to 2.6% in May, slightly above April’s 2.4%. The acceleration of price pressures was mainly driven by a rebound in energy prices, and a faster increase in prices for services. That said, price growth for food, alcohol and tobacco slowed.
The trend pointed down, with annual average harmonized inflation coming in at 3.4% in May (April: 3.7%). Meanwhile, core inflation ticked up to 2.9% in May from the previous month’s 2.8%.
Finally, harmonized consumer prices increased 0.21% in May over the previous month, which was below the 0.58% increase logged in April. May’s result marked the weakest reading since January.
Analysts at Erste Bank commented on the outlook:
“We expect a decline in service provider inflation momentum in the coming months, while energy inflation momentum is likely to continue to rise. Inflation should fall only slightly in the coming months”