The euro area annual inflation rate was 1.2% in May 2019, down from 1.7% in April 2019. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0%. European Union annual inflation was 1.6% in May 2019, down from 1.9% in April 2019. A year earlier, the rate was 2.0%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The lowest annual rates were registered in Cyprus (0.2%), Portugal (0.3%) and Greece (0.6%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (4.4%), Hungary (4.0%) and Latvia (3.5%). Compared with April 2019, annual inflation fell in sixteen Member States, remained stable in five and rose in six.
In May 2019, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate came from services (+0.47 percentage points, pp), followed by energy (+0.38 pp), food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.29 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.08 pp).
Geographical information
The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The European Union includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The euro area and European Union data refer to the respective country compositions at a specific point in time. New Member States are integrated into the aggregates using a chain index formula.
Data for the United Kingdom for May 2019 were not available in time for publication. Due to this fact, the EU totals have been calculated using Eurostat estimates.
Methods and definitions
The annual rate measures the change of the harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) between a month and the same month of the previous year, and the monthly rate compares the indices between the two latest months.
A contribution shows how much of the annual inflation rate comes from a particular component of the HICP. The contributions are calculated according to a method which ensures their additivity (allowing for rounding).
Revisions and timetable
A flash estimate of euro area inflation is issued at the end of each reference month. The euro area flash estimate for May 2019, published on 4 June 2019, was 1.2%.
The next flash estimate of euro area inflation with data for June 2019 is scheduled for 28 June 2019.