Euro area inflation accelerates further in April on fuel prices

Euro area inflation accelerated further in April. The consumer price index rose to 1.9 percent from March’s 1.5 percent, showed Eurostat. The rate in April 2016 was 0.2 percent. In the European Union, the rate of inflation came in at 2 percent, up from March’s 1.6 percent.

The lowest annual rates in the euro area were seen in Slovakia that recorded inflation of 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, Estonia recorded the highest annual rate in the currency bloc. In EU, the annual inflation, compared with March 2017, dropped in six member states, stayed stable in three and rose in nineteen.

Fuels for transport, package holidays and heating oil largely contributed to the headline rate, adding 0.39 percentage points, 0.12 percentage points and 0.11 percentage points respectively. Meanwhile, telecommunications, bread & cereals and garments contributed negatively to the headline figure.