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%).