In its latest flash estimate of inflation, Eurostat reports that annual consumer-price inflation for the euro area reached 8.6% in June. This is up from 8.1% in May and 7.4% in April and March.
Inflation in energy prices showed signs of stabilizing. It was up by 41.9% on an annual basis, a marginal increase from 39.1% in May. Inflation in food, alcohol, and tobacco prices, on the other hand, kept rising steadily. At 8.9% in June, the inflation rate for this commodities’ group was 1.4% percentage points higher than in May.
A total of nine countries now have inflation rates above 10%. Estonia continues to lead the euro-zone inflation league, with an annual rate at 22% (up from 20.1% in May). Lithuania is a close second at 20.5% (18.5%). The remaining seven countries with more than 10% inflation are Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
In May, only six countries had inflation rates in excess of 10%: Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, and Slovakia.
Only two countries experienced a decline in the inflation rate in June. In Germany it fell from 8.7% in May to 8.2% in June; in the Netherlands inflation declined from 10.2% to 9.9%.
In June 2021, only three euro-zone countries had inflation rates above 3%: Estonia at 3.7%, Lithuania at 3.5% and Luxembourg at 3.4%.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer-price index inflation rate in America in June equaled the euro zone at 8.6%. This was a marginal rise from 8.26% in May.
The euro zone’s annual industrial-producer price inflation reached 36.3% in May. The U.S. producer price index, a broader measure than Eurostat’s industrial-producer prices, was 21.7% in May and 21.5% in June. While both numbers are high, they have stabilized in recent months, suggesting that—all other things equal—consumer-price inflation is near or at its peak.
