According to the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat), in June 2021, the euro area annual inflation rate is expected to be 1.9 per cent, a tenth of a percentage point lower when compared to the 2.0 per cent booked in May.

However, it was noted that a year earlier the annual rate was 0.3 per cent in June 2020. The lowest annual rates were observed in Portugal (-0.6 per cent), Malta (0.2 per cent) and Greece (0.6 per cent).

The highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (3.7 per cent), Lithuania (3.5 per cent) and Luxembourg (3.4 per cent). When compared with May 2021, the annual inflation was stable in four member Euro states, declined in eight and rose in seven.

Eurostat reports that the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate in June 2021 is expected to be energy, increasing from 13.1 per cent in May to 12.5 per cent, followed by non-energy industry goods, which is expected to climb to 1.2 per cent from 0.7 per cent in May.

Services are estimated to decrease to 0.7 per cent, compared with 1.1 per cent in May and Food, alcohol & tobacco rose to 0.6 per cent from 0.5 per cent in May.