The annual inflation rate in the euro area fell sharply to 6.9% in March, while in the European Union (EU) it slowed to 8.3%, according to data published this Wednesday by Eurostat.
In the euro area, inflation fell either from 7.4% in the same period or from 8.5% in February.
In the EU, the annual inflation rate retreated from the value of February (9.9%), but remained above the same period (7.8%).
In March, according to the EU statistics office, the sectors of food, alcohol and tobacco made the largest contribution to the annual inflation rate in the eurozone (3.12 p.p., p.p.), followed by services (+2.10 p.p. .p.), non-energy manufactured goods (+1.71 p.p.) and energy products (-0.05 p.p.).
The lowest inflation rates measured by the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HICP) were registered in Luxembourg (2.9%), Spain (3.1%) and the Netherlands (4.5%), while the highest, on the contrary, were observed in Hungary (25.6%), Latvia (17.2%) and the Czech Republic (16.5%).
Compared to February, year-on-year inflation declined in March in 25 member states and rose in Slovenia and Malta.
Portugal recorded the fifth-highest annual inflation rate measured by HICP, the indicator used for European comparisons, at 8%, compared to 5.5% in March 2022 and 8.6% in February.
Inflation in the euro area began to accelerate in June 2021, mainly due to higher energy prices, and reached the highest level since November 2021, peaking at 10.6% in October 2022, with the first decline. in November last year.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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