Inflation in Europe fell in June: The difference between countries is large

According to the main data published by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), annual consumer inflation in the Eurozone fell to 5.5 percent in June. In May, the rate was 6.1 percent.

The fall in headline inflation was due to the fall in energy prices.

Monthly inflation, which was 0 percent in May, rose to 0.3 percent in June.

Market expectations were for annual inflation to be 5.6 percent and monthly inflation to be zero in the euro area in June.

FOOD INFLATION 11.7 PERCENT

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, rose to 5.4 percent in June. This rate was 5.3 percent in May. The estimate of the economists who participated in the Bloomberg survey was 5.5 percent on average for this item.

In the Euro Zone, food inflation was 11.7 percent, while energy inflation was -5.6 percent. Inflation was 5.4 percent in services and 5.5 percent in non-energy industrial products.

The pickup in core inflation also raised the possibility that the European Central Bank (ECB) will continue to raise interest rates in July.

LOWER IN SPAIN, HIGHER IN SLOVAKIA

According to EU-aligned data, inflation was 11.3% in Slovakia in June, 9% in Estonia, 8.3% in Croatia, 8.2% in Lithuania, 8.1% in Latvia and Austria.

The inflation rate was 6.8 percent in Germany, 6.7 percent in Italy, 6.4 percent in the Netherlands, 5.3 percent in France, and 1.6 percent in Spain.