August inflation steady at 2 percent; Eurostat revises estimates, removing preliminary rise

Brussels – Revised data show no rise in eurozone inflation. Eurostat publishes the final data for August and corrects the preliminary figures released at the beginning of the month. The result is inflation stable at 2 percent, and no longer up by 0.1 percentage points compared to July. 

Among the main components of inflation, a slight decrease was confirmed for food, alcohol, and tobacco (3.2 percent in August, compared to 3.3 percent in July) and services (3.1 percent, compared to 3.2 percent in July). The index for non-energy industrial goods (0.8 percent) and energy (2.5 percent) was stable. Against this backdrop of cost-of-living trends, there was an increase in unprocessed food (5.5 percent, up from 5.4 percent in July), confirming the European Central Bank forecasts for a new rise in food inflation.

Final data released by the European Statistical Office show that at a Member State level, in August, the lowest inflation rates were recorded in Cyprus (0), France (0.8 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from July), and Italy (1.6 percent, down 0.1 percentage point). The highest rates were recorded in Estonia (6.2 percent), Croatia (4.6 percent), and Slovakia (4.4 percent). Inflation was up in Germany (2.1 percent, up 0.3 percentage points), and was stable in Spain (2.7 percent).