Figures released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European communities, show that annual inflation in Malta stood at 3.3 per cent in June. The average annual inflation in the recently-enlarged European Union reached 2.4 per cent for the same period.

Last year, when the Union was still made up of 15 member states, the rate for the same

period stood at 1.8 per cent.

In the Euro-Zone, annual inflation fell from 2.5 per cent in May to 2.4 per cent in June.

The Euro-zone is made up of Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The highest inflation in June was recorded in Slovakia at 8.1 per cent.