Annual inflation in the euro area fell to 6.1% in May and in the European Union (EU) to 7.1%, driven by lower energy prices, Eurostat said this Friday.
In the eurozone, the annual inflation rate has slowed both from 7.0% in April and from 8.1% in May 2022, the EU statistics office said, confirming a quick estimate published in early June.
In the EU, the rate slowed in May from 8.1% in April and 8.8% in the same month in 2022.
The slowdown in inflation in the euro area is mainly due to the fall in energy prices, which recorded deflation at 1.8% in May against an increase in annual terms of 39.1% and 2.3% recorded in April.
The food, alcohol and tobacco segment registered an inflation rate of 12.5% in May, up from 7.5% in the same month in 2022 and 14.6% in April.
Excluding energy components and unprocessed food, the inflation rate in the euro area was 6.9% in May.
Among Member States, the highest annual inflation rates measured by the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HICP) were registered in Hungary (21.9%), Poland and the Czech Republic (12.5% each) and Luxembourg. (2.0%), Belgium (2.7%), Denmark and Spain (2.9% each).
Compared to April, the rate accelerated only in the Netherlands, slowing down in the other 26 countries.
In Portugal, the annual inflation rate as measured by HICP fell to 5.4% in May, compared to 6.9% in April and 8.1% in May 2022.
Eurozone inflation has accelerated since June 2021, driven mainly by higher energy prices, to record highs since November 2021, with the first decline recorded in November 2021.