Euro zone posts increase in inflation rate

Euro zone posts increase in inflation rate

Euro zone's annual inflation rate rose from 1.7% in March 2004 to 2.1% in March 2005, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said today. Monthly inflation was recorded as 0.7% in March. Eurostat stated that the monthly rate was in line with economists' expectations and driven by a seasonal increase in the prices of clothing. Meanwhile, annual inflation in the 25 member states of European Union (EU) also rose from 1.7% in March 2004 to 2.1% in March 2005. In March 2005, the lowest annual rates were observed in Sweden (0.5%), Finland (0.9%), the Czech Republic (1.2%) and in Denmark (1.3%), while the highest rates were recorded in Latvia (6.6%), Estonia (4.8%), Luxembourg (3.5%) and Spain (3.4%).