The annual inflation rate in the Eurozone (EZ15) amounted to 3.3% in February 2008 following 3.2% in January. One year earlier it had been 1.8%. Monthly inflation amounted to 0.3% in February. The annual inflation growth rate in the EU27 was 3.4% in February 2008. In February 2007 it had amounted to just 2.1%. The monthly inflation growth rate registered in the EU27 in February this year was 0.4%.
The above data and all the following dated were calculated by Eurostat which is the Statistical Office of the EU.
Price development in the EU member states:
In February 2008 the lowest annual inflation rates were registered in the Netherlands (2.0%), Germany, Portugal and Sweden (2.9% each) and the highest in Latvia (16.5%), Bulgaria (12.2%) and Estonia (11.5%). In comparison with the month of January the annual inflation rate increased in fourteen member states, stayed unchanged in eight and fell in four of them.
The lowest average rates over a period of twelve months were observed in Malta (1.2%), the Netherlands (1.7%), Denmark, France, Finland and Sweden (1.9% each) while the highest were found in Latvia (11.6%), Bulgaria (8.6%) and Estonia (7.8%).
Eurozone:
Education and training were those sectors in which prices increased most on an annual basis in February 2008 (9.7%), followed by foodstuffs (5.8%) and transport (5.4%). The sectors with the lowest inflation rates were telecommunications (-3.1%), leisure and culture (0.0%) as well as clothing and footwear (1.0%).
With regard to component indices the most driving factors on overall inflation were fuels (+0.50%), milk, cheese and eggs (+0.23), liquid fuels (+0.21) as well as bread and cereal products (+0.14%) while telecommunications (-0.20), motor vehicles (-0.14) and garments (-0.11) had the most decreasing effect on inflation.
Leisure and culture were those economic sectors in which monthly inflation was highest (1.0%), followed by clothing and footwear as well as restaurants and hotels (0.7% each). Monthly inflation was lowest in the fields of telecommunications (-0.4%), wellness and healthcare (0.0%) and transport (0.1%). In particular prices for package trips (+0.07 ), accomodation (+0.04) and clothing (+0.03) had the most increasing effect on overall inflation, while vegetables (-0.05), fuels and transport (-0.04) and telecommunications (-0.03) had a particularly curbing effect on inflation.
Explanations:
- EZ13: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland.
- EZ15: EZ13 enlarged on January 1st by Cyprus and Malta
- EU27: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and Great Britain.
