Malta registered an annual inflation rate of 3.2 per cent in August, Eurostat announced last week. This is still above the Euro-area 2.6 per cent but it is easing. In fact, it was 4.4 per cent in June and 4.2 per cent in July.

Euro area annual inflation was 2.6 per cent in August, up from 2.4 per cent in July. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 per cent. Monthly inflation was 0.4 per cent in August. EU annual inflation was 2.7 per cent in August, up from 2.5 per cent in July. A year earlier, the rate was 3.0 per cent. Monthly inflation was 0.4 per cent in August.

In August, the lowest annual rates were observed in Sweden (0.9 per cent), Greece (1.2 per cent) and Latvia (1.9 per cent), and the highest in Hungary (6.0 per cent), Cyprus (4.5 per cent) and Estonia (4.2 per cent). Compared with July, annual inflation rose in 20 member states, remained stable in two and fell in four.

The lowest 12-month averages up to August were registered in Sweden (1.0 per cent), Ireland and Greece (both 1.8 per cent), and the highest in Hungary (5.1 per cent), Estonia (4.5 per cent) and Slovakia (4.1 per cent).