(BRUSSELS) - Inflation in the 15 nations sharing the euro is undesirably high at 3.3 percent in April, the EU's top economic official said on Tuesday.

"The figure of inflation ... 3.3 percent is higher than we want," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Brussels.

The European Union's Eurostat data agency later confirmed the 3.3 percent 12-month rate for April, down from a record 3.6 percent in March.

The highest price rises were again seen in food (6.0 percent) as well as housing and transport (4.8 percent), while prices in the communications and recreation and culture sectors actually dropped.

Despite the lower overall rate, inflation remained far above the European Central Bank's comfort level, which it defines as just below 2.0 percent on an annual basis.

In April last year inflation stood at 1.9 percent.

Despite the undesirable level of inflation, Almunia was hopeful that it would cool in the coming months.

"Oil prices have gone up and this is having a strong impact in all the price indices all over the world and also in the euro area," he said.

"We hope that if these external shocks will not increase further we will be able to go again in the direction of 2.0 percent," he added.

For the 27-nation EU as a whole, 12-month inflation was down to 3.6 percent in April from 3.8 percent the previous month.

The national rates ranged widely from just 1.7 percent in the Netherlands, 2.5 percent in Portugal and 2.6 percent in Germany up to 10.1 percent in Bulgaria and 13.0 percent in Latvia.

The estimated inflation fall in April should be "treated with caution," the European Central Bank warned.

"The continuous strength of oil prices is suggesting ongoing upward pressure on consumer energy prices, and further processed food price increases cannot be excluded, despite a slowdown in short-term dynamics," the ECB said in its monthly report.

Howard Archer, economist at Global Insight, said the lower inflation rate suggests that the early Easter this year had more of an upward impact in March.

"It is unlikely to significantly dilute the ECB's concerns that persistently high energy and food prices could increasingly feed through to have serious second round effects," he warned.

Extended elevated inflation and tightening labour markets could "raise the spectre of a damaging wage-price spiral developing," he added.

Further details - Eurostat

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.