Annual inflation in the European Union was 1.9 percent in March this year, up from 1.5 percent in February, according to a report released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In March 2009 the annual inflation rate was registered as 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, monthly inflation was 0.7 percent in March this year.
In March, the lowest annual rates were observed in Latvia with -4.0 percent, in Ireland with -2.4 percent and in Lithuania with -0.4 percent, and the highest in Hungary with 5.7 percent, in Romania with 4.2 percent and in Greece with 3.9 percent. Compared with February, annual inflation fell in five member states, remained stable in two and rose in nineteen.
The lowest 12-month averages up to March this year were registered in Ireland at -2.3 percent, in Portugal at -0.8 percent and in Estonia at -0.7 percent, and the highest in Romania at five percent, Hungary at 4.8 percent and in Poland at 3.9 percent.