Eurozone inflation eases to 2.7% in May
(BRUSSELS) - Eurozone 12-month inflation eased slightly in May to 2.7 percent after hitting a 30-month peak of 2.8 percent in April, European Union data showed on Thursday.
Annual inflation in the EU 27 also eased to 3.2 percent in May, down from 3.3 percent in April, according to Eurostat, the EU's data agency.
While it was the sixth month running in which inflation was well above the two-percent target set by the European Central Bank, it remains below the pre-crisis October 2008 level of 3.2 percent.
Fuelled by a spike in energy costs as well as for raw materials, inflation was highest in Romania with a 7.5 percent increase, followed by Greece with 4.8 percent and Estonia 4.5 percent.
The lowest 12-month change in consumer prices was registered in Ireland with a 0.2 percent drop, followed Sweden with a 1.5 percent gain.