Annual inflation in the euro area was 2.4 percent in July this year, remaining unchanged compared with June, according to a report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In July 2011, the annual inflation rate was 2.6 percent. Meanwhile, monthly inflation was -0.5 percent in July 2012.
Meanwhile, in the European Union annual inflation was 2.5 percent in July, also stable compared with last month. In the same month of the previous year, the annual inflation rate was registered as 2.9 percent, while monthly inflation was -0.4 percent in June this year.
In July, the lowest annual inflation rates in the European Union were observed in Sweden with 0.7 percent, in Greece with 0.9 percent and in Germany and Latvia both with 1.9 percent, while the highest were seen in Hungary with 5.7 percent, in Malta with 4.2 percent and in Estonia with 4.1 percent. In July this year, annual inflation fell in 12 states, rose in 14 states and remained stable in one state compared with the same month of 2011.
The lowest 12-month averages up to the end of July 2012 were registered in Sweden at 1.0 percent, in Ireland at 1.6 percent and in Greece at 1.8 percent, while the highest were recorded in Hungary with 4.9 percent, in Estonia with 4.6 percent and in Slovakia with 4.1 percent.