In June 2024, the inflation rate in the euro area increased by 2.5% compared to the same month in 2023. Thus, the rate decreased compared to 2.6% in May. This is evidenced by preliminary data from Eurostat.
The consensus forecast of analysts cited by Trading Economics also predicted a slowdown to 2.5%.
Core inflation (excluding energy and food costs) rose 2.9% in June, maintaining its May level. Energy prices rose 0.2% after a 0.3% increase in May. Experts had expected core inflation to slow to 2.8%.
The highest annual inflation rates among EU member states in June were in Belgium (5.5%) and Spain (3.5%), while the lowest were in Finland (0.6%) and Italy (0.9%). Consumer prices rose by 2.5% in Germany and 2.5% in France.
For reference, seasonally adjusted GDP for the Eurozone and European Union increased by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in January-March 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, while the EU remained stable.
The euro area's quarterly economic growth reached its highest level since the third quarter of 2022.
As previously reported by GMK Center, Fitch Ratings raised its global GDP growth forecast for 2024 by 0.3 percentage points from its previous forecast to 2.4%. The forecast for the euro area was revised down to 0.6% from 0.7%.
