BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Eurozone inflation matched the flash estimate in May, while core inflation accelerated beyond expectations, official data showed Wednesday.
Inflation advanced to 3.2 percent, the strongest since September 2023, and remained unchanged from the estimate published on June 2. This followed April's 3.0 percent increase.
Inflation has remained above the European Central Bank's medium-term target of 2 percent for the third straight month.
Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose to 2.6 percent, which was slightly above the flash estimate of 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent posted in April.
On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent in May.
Energy prices logged an annual growth of 10.8 percent, the same rate as seen in April. Services inflation rose to 3.5 percent from 3.0 percent.
Non-energy industrial goods prices climbed 0.9 percent, following a 0.8 percent gain a month ago. Meanwhile, food inflation softened to 1.9 percent from 2.4 percent.
Last week, the ECB had raised its interest rates for the first time in nearly three years in a bid to cushion the impact of rising inflation. The deposit rate was raised by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
