In August, inflation within the European Union dipped to 5.9 percent, marking a modest decline from July’s 6.1 percent. These figures have been reported by Eurostat, the statistical office. Notably, Hungary recorded the highest inflation rate at 14.2 percent, while the Czech Republic secured the second position with inflation reaching 10.1 percent. These two countries stand out as the sole EU members where inflation exceeded the 10 percent mark in August.
Within the Eurozone, the inflation rate exhibited a slight decrease, slipping from 5.3 to 5.2 percent. This represents a minor improvement when compared to preliminary data released at the end of August, which indicated an inflation rate of 5.3 percent. However, the preliminary EU-wide report did not provide this information.
In August, the category of services played the most significant role in driving overall inflation within the Eurozone, contributing 2.41 percentage points. Following closely behind was the category encompassing food, alcohol, and tobacco, which added 1.98 points.
In a month-over-month comparison, prices in the EU saw a half-percent increase, mirroring the trend within the Eurozone. Analysts had anticipated that the inflation rate in the Eurozone would remain stable at 5.3 percent in August, with a projected 0.6 percent rise in prices.
One year earlier, in August 2022, the EU-wide inflation rate stood at 10.1 percent. Hungary recorded an inflation rate of 18.6 percent, while the Czech Republic reported 17.1 percent. Within the Eurozone, the inflation rate was 9.1 percent at the same time the previous year.
Denmark boasted the lowest inflation rate in August of this year, standing at 2.3 percent, according to Eurostat. Spain and Belgium followed closely behind, both with an inflation rate of 2.4 percent. Conversely, Hungary and the Czech Republic experienced the highest inflation rates, with Slovakia ranking third at 9.6 percent.
In terms of monthly trends, fifteen EU Member States witnessed a decline in inflation from July to August, one remained unchanged, and eleven countries reported an increase.
Source: ceskenoviny.cz
