Inflation fell slightly in May compared to April, reports the Central Bureau of Statistics Thursday. Prices in April were still 9.6 percent higher than a year earlier, while products and services were 8.8 percent more expensive in May than in the same month last year.
The fall in inflation is mainly due to the fact that energy prices (of electricity, gas and district heating) rose less rapidly. In May, energy was 105 percent more expensive than a year earlier, in April it was 136 percent. Energy costs currently have by far the largest influence on inflation.
The price of petrol did have an upward effect on inflation. Petrol was 23.8 percent more expensive in May than a year earlier, in April it was 20.1 percent. At the pump, a liter of petrol cost 2.19 euros in May, in April that was 2.09 euros.