Euro area annual inflation was 4.0% in June 20082, up from 3.7% in May. A year earlier the rate was 1.9%. Monthly inflation was 0.4% in June 2008.
EU3 annual inflation was 4.3% in June 2008, up from 4.0% in May. A year earlier the rate was 2.1%. Monthly inflation was 0.4% in June 2008.
Inflation in the EU Member States
In June 2008, the lowest annual rates were observed in the Netherlands (2.3%), Germany and Portugal (3.4% each), and the highest in Latvia (17.5%), Bulgaria (14.7%) and Lithuania (12.7%), Malta stood at 4.4%. Compared with May 2008, annual inflation rose in twenty-one Member States, remained stable in two and fell in three.
The lowest 12-month averages up to June 2008 were registered in the Netherlands (1.7%), the United Kingdom (2.4%), Denmark and Sweden (2.6% each), and the highest in Latvia (14.5%), Bulgaria (11.7%) and Estonia (9.7%), Malta was at 2.8%.
Euro area
The main components with the highest annual rates in June 2008 were transport (7.1%), food (6.4%) and housing (6.1%), while the lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-1.6%), recreation & culture (0.1%) and clothing (0.7%). Concerning the detailed sub-indices, fuels for transport (+0.69 percentage points), heating oil (+0.40) and milk, cheese & eggs (+0.21) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate, while garments (-0.20), cars and telecommunications (-0.18 each) had the biggest downward impacts.
The main components with the highest monthly rates were transport (1.4%), housing and hotels & restaurants (0.6% each), and the lowest were clothing (-0.7%), communications (-0.1%), recreation & culture and education (0.0% each). In particular, fuels for transport (+0.18 percentage points), heating oil (+0.06) and accommodation services (+0.03) had the largest upward impacts, while garments (-0.07), vegetables (-0.05) and rents (-0.02) had the biggest downward impacts.