LUXEMBOURG (dpa-AFX) – The surge in oil prices as a result of the Iran war has increased inflation in the Eurozone also fired up in May. In a year-on-year comparison, consumer prices rose by 3.2 percent, as the Eurostat statistics office announced in Luxembourg on Wednesday after a second estimate. The first estimate was thus confirmed. In April the inflation rate was 3.0 percent. Economists had on average expected this development. The European Central Bank (ECB) is aiming for annual inflation of two percent in the medium term.
Compared to the previous month, the price level rose by 0.1 percent. This was also expected.
Inflation was driven by rising energy prices as a result of the Iran war. These increased by 10.8 percent year-on-year. In the services sector, price inflation was 3.5 percent. He sped up with it. Prices for food and beverages increased by 1.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the core rate of inflation, which excludes particularly volatile components such as energy and food, rose surprisingly significantly. It rose from 2.2 to 2.6 percent. This means that the initial estimate of 2.5 percent was revised upwards slightly. Economists, on the other hand, had expected confirmation on average./jha/stk