Malta scored the European Union’s lowest annual inflation rate in August, according to figures released yesterday by the EU’s statistical arm Eurostat yesterday.

At an annual inflation rate of 0.6 per cent, Malta outperformed the EU average of 1.9 per cent and the eurozone average of 1.7 per cent three times over. Malta’s August 2005-August 2006 inflation rate had stood at 3 per cent – representing a significantly positive downward trend.

After Malta, Denmark and Holland had the second-lowest rates at 0.9 and 1.1 percentage points.

Malta also recorded the lowest 12-month average up to August 2007 with an inflation rate of 0.5 per cent – followed by France and Finland, both at 1.3 per cent, while the highest rates were in Latvia and Hungary, both at 7.7 percent and in Bulgaria with 5.7 per cent.

The highest rates, meanwhile, were recorded in Latvia, Bulgaria and Hungary with respective increases of 10.2, 9.3 and 7.1 per cent.

Annual inflation within the euro area stood at 1.7 per cent in August, slightly down from the 1.8 per cent annual inflation rate registered in August 2006.

The EU-wide annual inflation rate stood at 1.9 per cent, down from July’s 2 per cent.