Annual inflation in the euro area rose slightly, on a monthly basis, in May 2024, reaching 2.6% compared with 2.4% in April. A year earlier, the rate was 6.1%.

According to Eurostat, annual inflation in the European Union was 2.7% in May 2024, down from 2.6% in April. A year earlier, the rate was 7.1%.

In Greece, harmonised annual inflation, in Eurostat's second estimate, was 2.4% in May, up from an initial estimate of 2.3%.

The lowest annual rates were recorded in Latvia (0.0%), Finland (0.4%), and Italy (0.8%). The highest annual rates were registered in Romania (5.8%), Belgium (4.9%), and Croatia (4.3%).

Compared with April, annual inflation fell in eleven Member States, remained stable in two, and rose in fourteen.

In May, services made the largest contribution to annual inflation in the euro area (+1.83 percentage points, p.p.), followed by food, alcohol, & tobacco (+0.51 p.p.), non-energy industrial goods (+0.18 p.p.), and energy (+0.04 p.p.).